Ire lokke, ire tedd
by Dawnblade2015
Summary: "Another place, another time" Ciri and Avallac'h end up in grave danger, rescued by Pen Aep Danu...the Lady Thorn...and taken to a place where they are legends the Red Riders are already gone and defeated. But not is all as it seems, the Lady Thorn holds secrets, ones that contradict the legends...Cross over with Life Singer...on hiatus until sorted with Cort of thorns
1. Rescue and Revelation

A little note: Pen she introduces herself to Ciri as Pen Aep Danu since Lochain was of that clan (as Nuadda Silver hand) and she is descended from him, also she married the angsty elf who is a son of earth(Danu). It would also be a designation Ciri and Avallac'h would understand. Author's note: Fixing continuity to run congruent with Court of thorns, cross begins at chapter 25 for Court of thorns.

* * *

The small band gathered, ready to depart. Pen did the last minute checks, this mission could not fail. She did not see either of her lovers as she saddled the horses that would take them to the portal location. Aethen was her second, he had put on his armor. The guard and thorns were dressed in shades of black and red. The Navigator looked uncomfortable, they looked like bits of shadow surrounding him. The wagon was going to follow.

"...Remember, the hunt we shall face will be still led by Eredin." Pen said. "take them down with lead or silver if we have to...We are to gather the Aen Saevheme Avallac'h and Lady Ciri, and bring them here..."

There were nods around, they knew their orders.

Pen stood next to the litter that carried the badly injured Sage, another carried an unconscious Ciri. She couldn't leave them here, this was not safe. The Riders were coming, as they always did. She cursed as the temperature dropped, Cold spell. They needed to hurry, the hunt was not far away now. She turned to watch her navigator open the portal, She loaded her crossbow. She pulled up the scarf to hide her face.

"Our portal is secure..." came the young navigator's words.

Pen nodded, moving to take the rear crossbow at the ready.

"We need to go, now..."

Her people hurried through, she stood her ground and fired. The first rider that slid through the offending portal was shot off their horse as their portal closed.

The Prior portal was only the first, Pen looked the two she rescued as her men began to treat their injuries. Ciri's were minor, mostly a bump on the head and an injured ankle. The Sage, however, had several arrows in his back and one through his thigh. The ones in his back had been snapped low, and the one in his thigh snaped and pulled through before being bound. The temperature began to drop again, the cold finding them along with the hunt.

"...A few more minutes...the portal has to open." Came the navigator's voice.

Pen loaded her crossbow again, her second bolt. A second rider died as they crossed the portal, a dead shot to the throat. She followed her men through, knowing now why the Diary had said portal travel required fortitude.

The final portal, they could rest for a little while. Pen checked on the Navigator, he assured her he could stabilize the portal into the Court of thorns. She nodded, waiting for the temperature to drop, she would take out a third, as they could not follow where they were going. She readied her final bolt, she knew just who she would shoot and the dominos that would fall into place after. The offending portal opened and the bolt flew as the one opened up behind her and she vanished with her people.

The rattle of a wagon on the stone of the road told the healers Lady Thorn had returned, with their charges. Orders were shouted, feet hurried as the sage was unloaded. Blood already stained the makeshift bandages on his back, and the one on his thigh soaked through. He was carried into one of the surgery rooms. Pen would See to Ciri first.

Ciri was carried into a guest suite, her ankle set and bound. Aethen agreed to look after her until she awoke. He settled down with a book, knowing it would be some time before the lady of time and space awoke from the knock she'd taken. He watched Pen hurry out, he had a feeling he knew where she'd go after she helped the healers, he sent word to the two men hoping one of them had the sense to go talk to her.

Pen returned to where Avallac'h was, the surgeons pulling out the bolts. The war points gleaming with the Sage's blood. She knew how nasty those were. The head healer nodded, he'd welcome her help. She began to sing, "Banks of the Lee", the only song her torn heart could conjure. This was why her song had effected him at the welcome feast. She channeled the healing power, closing the wounds healing the damage. She stepped back, letting out a breath. The healers could work from there.

#

Pen went to the healing rooms, not bothering to change until she looked in on Ciri. She talked to the healers as she walked down the hall, using the common tongue since they were a small group of Fey and Aen Elle.

"...We've put the Sage in light sleep, and chose the pain killers carefully." One of the healers said. "He looks worse for ware right now, and the signs of the rot are already on him..."

Pen knew that would be true, it had been halted by his love for Ciri. She rolled her shoulders, reminding herself that she had to let things play out.

"...We are keeping a careful watch. Those points could have been coated with anything..."

She nodded as they paused outside Ciri's door.

The strong smell of food woke Ciri from sleep. She opened her eyes upon a strange place, the smell of food was coming from a table near the hearth. It looked a lot like the Rooms in Tir Na Lia. She panicked for a moment before she realized there were voices in the hall, in the common tongue. The Aen Elle did not speak the common tongue. Beside her was a gray-skinned Male in what looked like a bastardization of knight's armor.

"...You're awake..." The voice was pleasant, "I will let the Lady Thorn know..."

The man departed, pausing to talk to someone at the door.

Aethen opened the door, Ciri was awake. He paused to talk to the two guards, Pen was needed, as she'd asked to know when the woman woke. He saw her with the healers, talking. He gained her attention and pointed inside. She nodded, breaking off from the healers.

A few moments later, a woman dressed much Like Avallac'h entered, her dress differed only in color and in the ornamentation of a brooch and the jet and bone beads in her ears. Her first thought was that the woman was an Aen Saevherne.

"You are safe here, they won't find you...not for a while." The woman's voice held the lit of the Aen Sidhe.

The woman must have known she was in danger...the woman had to be a sage.

"I am Lady Pen Aep Danu." She said. "I am the head of the Singer's guild, Lady thorn..."

"Where am I..."

"The Court of Thorns...and as I said they will not find you for some time."

Ciri managed to sit up, her head hurt and her ankle throbbed.

"You took a knock to the head and your ankle is dislocated." Pen said. "Your companion...He was in bad shape...Rider's arrows, nasty barbs those..."

"His name is..."

"Avallac'h..." Pen said. "Are you bonded?"

Ciri wondered what she meant by that, she held no bond over the sage. She barely liked him, he was only teaching her.

"He's my mentor...teacher."

Pen looked at her and shook her head. Then again perhaps she knew more than she let on.

"...As you believe..." Pen said. "You should eat...I'll bring a brace and clothing for you..."

Ciri nodded, this seemed woman seemed so cold.

Pen gave orders for Ciri to have clothing and a brace for her ankle so she could move to the table to eat. She headed toward the bathing room, she needed to wash the road and the minor pang of jealousy she was feeling away.

#

Pen changed her clothes and went to see Ciri, now sitting at the table. The lady of space and time looked older than her years. Still a child in many aspects, barely fifteen. Yet in that time she had run from the hunt, been a thief and an apprentice mage and witcher. Crevan had said she wasn't innocent, she could see where that would be true. She probably would not notice anything but the need to be close to her mentor.

"Lady Thorn..." She said. "Avallac'h, I need to see him."

"The healers say he isn't stable yet, but as soon as he is..." She said. "And you should stay off that ankle..."

"Please..."

Pen looked at her, she would have said the same if it had been Nuada. She had, many times over.

"Talk to the healers, it is their say," she said. "I will send one in to make sure your OK to go anywhere, and give you a stick to lean on..."

Pen left the room, They had run so much that being separated was cause for demand to see the other.

#

Ciri managed to convince the healers to bring her to Avallac'h. The Sage was in a deep healing sleep. She watched him sleep, his fingers lay relaxed in sleep but looking close the dark circles under his eyes, the complexion of his skin. Something was not right about it, she had never noticed this before. Then again they had no more than an hour or two rest before they had to run before.

"...He is sick, has been for some time."

She spun to see Pen in the doorway.

"...The Aen Elle become very gaunt and dark circles from around the eyes. Most healers would have locked him into Reverie, we opted for a lighter Sleep."

Pen brought in a tray with two mugs, a covered pot and a steaming kettle upon it. She set the tray on the table and began pouring a steaming liquid into both mugs.

"...He doesn't eat much..."

Pen smiled, She knew that was true. Even after a few weeks, Crevan was still a stone or two underweight for a healthy male of his kind.

"That explains a bit. I've never known a scholar, scribe or healer to eat a decent meal regularly..." Pen said. "Myself included..." She mixed honey into the mug she'd brought. "A healthy male elf should weigh 10-13 stone depending on muscle...He weighs about seven. He needs about three more stone for starters..."

"You said sick..." Ciri said, sounding worried.

Pen mixed a bit of honey into the other and brought it to Ciri. She studied him, and then her. She added a bit more honey.

"...Yes. Very little can make them so...but there are rare conditions. I have dealt with one such first hand." She said. "Drink, I've sweetened it so it won't taste like the stable boy's boots but it will ease the headache you have..."

The woman must be a knowing one, she had not mentioned the tension headache she was getting. The brew tasted astringent even with the honey.

"Thank you..." Ciri said.

"You are very much welcome...Zireael."

Ciri turned, she had not given her name. The woman must be a sage to know that name.

"How do you know that name..."

"It is easy enough. The blade you carry, your...mentor." Pen said. "Your tale is a legend among my people..." She smiled. "You are weary enough to forget that you can travel time as well."

Ciri was slowly coming to realize that this woman knew her all too well.

"...This place is."

"...A far future, but not as far as you have traveled." Pen said. "The hunt cannot travel here without a price...for what pursues you does not exist here...defeated long ago."

"So we can rest, we don't have to run..."

Pen could see the relief in Ciri's face, a chance to rest without having to fear. This respite would do them both good.

"Yes, and it will strengthen your resolve to battle the White cold..." Pen said. "Our Sage said I should not tell you more than that, and I will abide that advice."

"You heisted when you said, mentor..."

Pen paused, Crevan had asked she be told to be gentle with his heart.

"...I will only say be gentle with the gift when it is offered." Pen said. "I'll come back in a while with food..."

Ciri nodded, having been given enough to ruminate on.


	2. Blind eye sees best

Ciri watched the portage drip off the spoon held in her bandaged hand. She was getting bored, she had asked several times to be released from the room, only to be told that she was being restricted for her own safety and that of her mentor.

"Please, I want out of this room..." Ciri pleaded. "At least let Avallac'h be awake so I have someone to talk to."

The healer frowned, "I will have to consult with Lady Thorn.."

She had slammed her hand against the table with bruising force out of frustration, the healer's frown deepened as they treated the injuries.

Pen brought a tray to Ciri, voices told her the healers had taken her suggestion and let Avallac'h be awake. It was a good sign. A bit of food would do them both good. She knocked before she turned the knob and entered the room. The healer was changing the bandages. They finished quickly, letting her set up the meal. She could see the sage was already weary as he was watching her.

"...Both of you need to eat..." Pen said.

Unlike breakfast this was stew, smelling rich of roast and herbs.

"...And Sage, no complaints..."

Ciri was surprised that she cut off a protest before he could utter it. Pen had spent much of the day with the council's demands and then the merchants had come with their fears the current situation would affect trade.

"...I have dealt with protests enough today..." She said. "I will not take them from an injured male."

Ciri could almost hear Yennifer say the same to Geralt. She noticed Pen's clothes had changed, more practical for work than what she had been wearing, the only things that remained was the brooch, it now secured a fly plaid of black, garnet red, and bone white.

"I must thank your healers, Lady Thorn..."Avallac'h said.

Pen smiled."They are most skilled, War points are nasty things..."

Ciri noticed the brooch and asked of it. The tree of life with a spear at its heart and musical notes in the branches. Pen heard the childlike curiosity in the question, reminded again that Ciri was still in her Mid teens despite how the stories painted her.

"...My house and my Husband's." She said. "He is of the High court, I am a freeholder, by the King's leave..." She placed a bowl in Ciri's hands before giving the same to Avallac'h. "...It is boar..."

"...Boar stew, I have not had this since Skellig..." Ciri said. "It was always a treat when I went as a child..."

"I knew you would like it. It is a treat here as well. If the weather is good, I can arrange for the two of you to go into the garden...or at least the conservatory.."

"You have a glass garden?" Ciri sounded excited.

"Yes, its how we grow herbs over the winter, and a few rare plants year-round." Pen said, dishing up a bowl for herself.

The spoon was halfway to Pen's lips when there was a rapid knock and the door burst open to reveal two children of indistinguishable gender that ran at her.

"Atara, Atara..." They said in unison.

Pen managed to place the bowl down before it spilled. It was clear she was used to interruptions like this.

"Deir, Nod..." She said in a warning tone.

Both stopped mid-stride. They knew they did something wrong. Ciri almost felt sorry for the two as Pen got up.

"What did I tell you of the healing rooms..." Pen said, her tone stern but not upset.

"Quiet, no running..." the one on the left said.

"Yes, and what did you just do wrong?"

"Loud, running..." said the one on the right.

"Yes..." She said. "Now tell me what was so important that you broke those rules..."

"Atar says you will read us a story..."

"I did promise before I left, go to the library and ask Regis for a book and come back here properly I will read you a story..."

Both departed, slowly this time. Pen followed to close the door.

"Deirdre and Nodens...my youngest..." Pen said. "My elder two are at high court with their sire..."

"You have a library..." Avallac'h asked.

"Yes, and an archive but that is mostly for the guild." Pen said. "It will take them a bit, Regis is a bit of ham, especially when Nod wants to fight him...Slay the Dragon is his favorite game..."

She returned to her bowl and took a seat next to Ciri.

A little while later, the two children returned, one holding a tome, dressed in their nightclothes. One had a doll that looked like a certain half-blind elf. They came forward quietly, Regis must have scolded them as well when they asked for the tome.

"Let us see...I think I know the one to tell tonight..." Pen said, reading the cover. "Cu Cullen..."

Pen began reading, in Galic, stopping only when one or the other asked a question.

It was a little while later the nursery maid came to take away the two children and bring her news that Tam had come home. She brightened, it meant Dain Cite was also home. She excused herself, she wanted to give her elder sons a warm greeting.

#

Ciri aided Avallac'h into a tunic, the bandages changed again. Their escort to the gardens showed up, a young half-elf, eyes hidden behind smoked lenses and a tall cane in hand. He was dressed in near the same as Pen when they had first met her. He wore the same plaid over his shoulder, though his brooch was roses twined with notes, most likely his personal device. He used the cane to navigate the room toward them.

"You're..." Ciri said.

"Blind, yes...but not as one would expect, my eyes are strange and light makes them hurt. I Have found it...better to behave like a blind man." He said. "My name is Gideon, I am Lady Thorn's son and Second among the healers...my Atara wanted a second set of senses to insure healing."

"...You will be showing us the garden's..."

"Yes, and the Glass garden as you asked..." Gideon said. "...maybe a little time for lunch among the trees in the center of the garden..."

The soft pad tap of the cane on the stone seemed soothing, a quiet sound to focus on as they moved through the halls.

"...I noticed something..."

"Our attire?" Gideon said. "We take much of it from the Aen Saeveherne, to honor them." He led them onto the garden path, "The plaid is of the Court of thorns...You will see it much."

They were in a secluded spot when Giddion stopped for a moment. He tilted his head, listening to something far off.

"I must leave you here for a time...I'm being called way..."

Gideon left them in the small hedge alcove, letting them enjoy the quiet.

Ciri got Avallac'h to sit, she'd been in a jumble since they had arrived. She had wanted to see him immediately. Now in the few days since she'd watched the healers. Her ankle felt better, the brace holding it enough to walk. Avallac'h was quiet as well...

"A crown for your thoughts?" She said.

"The Lady Thorn, she hides things..." He said. "I would be wary of her..."

Yes, leave it to him to plant those seeds.

"...She has been kind." Ciri said. "Said the Hunt would not find us for a while..."

"And we only have her word..."

"She said her husband was of the High Court..."

"...Lies can be told..." He said.

"and you would know so much about that..." She snapped. "You've told me near nothing but at Tir Na Lir..."

"You are too valuable..."

She gave him an icy green stare before rising and stomping off a short distance on the paths.

Avallac'h cursed himself, it always happened with her. He meant well, she had looked too much like Lara until the scar. He still drew her without it, but could not tell her. His emotions rolled between lust, hate and...he wanted to scream. He watched Ciri stomp by for the third time.

"I am a fool..." He said to himself.

Ciri came back to sit beside him in cool silence. He glanced at her, she was beautiful. He knew she feared to take a male lover. He wanted to take her in his arms, stake the rolling emotions. He reached and took her hand. Her first reaction was to pull away, he let her.

"I apologize...We have been to too many places...too dangerous"

She was slightly shocked, had he just apologized.

"I can admit when I am wrong..." He confessed. "but it will not be often..."

Now there was the man she was used to, too proud to bend. They had sat in a comfortable silence until Gideon returned with a basket. He bade them follow.

The trees were in bloom, a bit out of season but then again they were not normal trees. He thought this a better place than the small hedge alcove. He was observing them, listening to the way Avallac'h breathed and the small sounds that indicated pain. He had treated enough of the court to know when an elf was not healing properly...

"...I will have my Atara look at your wounds again..." Gideon said. "One is not healing properly..."

Avallac'h noticed the sharp intake of breath from Ciri, there and gone. It indicated she cared, and maybe more.

"It does not hurt..." He said.

Gideon pulled out bandages from the basket as well and containers of food.

"I want a look at it too..."

He obliged the healer if something happened to him...he would not let her face the hunt alone. He could not let Eriden get his hands upon her, loose the elder Blood.

"...Damn," Gideon swore, one of the wounds was broken open and angry red lines radiated from the blackened hole in the epicenter. "...We will need deride it...back at the manor..."

Avallac'h suddenly did not feel good, The prodding of the wound brought nausea, perhaps the healers had brought him up too soon. He managed to crawl a short distance and purge his meager breakfast into the flower bed. Ciri was at his side in a blink, as he began to shake...His last thoughts before blacking out were of the expression of worry on her face.

Ciri sat beside Avallac'h's bed, the second examination of one of the wounds said poison. One specific for crippling or killing a Sage. It had gone undetected as its nature. They had put him under again, cleaned the wounds and bound them. The Hunt knew who aided her in escaping after Aubron's death. How could they not?

"I keep forgetting who leads what hunts you." Pen said "I should have suspected...I am sorry..."

"You could not have known..." Ciri said, not really focused "I should have seen..."

"You would not have noticed the subtle signs, it was why I wanted another set of senses...I was right to do that."

"Is there a cure?"

"Yes, it's being brewed now..."

Pen put her hand on Ciri's shoulder.

"...He cares of you more than you think..." She said.

She watched a moment, before leaving the swallow to her vigil over the Fox.

#

It was a few hours later that Ciri was surprised by Pen bringing in two large trays. One held a full meal, the other what looked like bottles of some murky liquid.

"I would have brought you elsewhere to eat, but our guests insisted on inspecting the kitchen and bringing their cooks. Like we do not know how to prepare Elven food..."

She set down both trays. Pointing Ciri to the food. Pen's tone said she was annoyed.

"Forgive me, I have never been one for the fancy trappings of nobility, in dress or manners...So I avoid them whenever possible...dealing with them sharpens my tongue and temper..." She said. "We will be waking Avallac'h to administer the antidote..."

"...I know some of these." Ciri said. "A base of White Gull?"

"Close, Moonshine and grain spirit..." Pen said. "Best for tincturing..."

"Why are you doing this..." Ciri asked. "Sheltering us, hiding us..."

Pen took in a breath, "I was asked to, and considering I am glad too..." She smiled. "Eat and I will wake your mentor, a little time awake before I give him the antidote will do good."

Ciri watched as Pen stroked certain Places on Avallac'h's face, his brow, cheeks, temples. She had seen the healers use that pattern before, Pen was being careful on the pattern.

"Something to learn..." Pen said as Avallac'h's eyes fluttered open. "An elf will drop into reverie with a certain pattern, the reverse wakes them...and it is a state they will not fight if gravely injured..."

Avallac'h groaned, he was not wanting to be awake. The pain of the poison burning under his skin.

"I'm going to set you up so you can take the antidote...I do not want it going in your lungs..." She turned to Ciri. "Aid me, please..."

Pen instructed, Ciri followed. She brought back one of the bottles and gently put it to his lips. He swallowed, making protests at the taste.

"I cannot sweeten these..." Pen said softly. "I'm sorry..."

Finishing her task, she reached under the bed with her foot and pulled out a basin. Avallac'h made a sound and Pen helped him lean over.

"I would turn away..." Pen said a moment before what looked like black goop hit the basin.

It was violent, painful and disgusting, but Pen kept giving him more she had to, along with profuse apologies when Ciri sprinted from the room to be Ill herself.

When Ciri returned, a small army of servants and cleaned and the room smelled somewhat fresh. The evergreen and sweet wood in the fire helped. The food was gone, leaving a small bowl broth and bread. Something she could stomach after what she'd witnessed. Avallac'h was sleeping again, cleaned up and fresh bandages. A cot was next to the hearth, with blankets for her to remain there. She managed a bit of the broth and bread before she crawled into the blankets and slept.

#

Ciri had asked if there was a place to train and was escorted to the manor's Dojo. Much to her surprise, there were already several people there. One stood out, he was using sticks to fend off the four "attackers". Many curses followed as he knocked them down.

"No fair, Tam..." One of them said. "You've trained with the guard..."

"All the better...the king's ravens are the best...next to thorns of course..." Tam said, then saw her. "Lady Ciri..."

All turned to see her, some excused themselves leaving Tam and two others. He bowed to her.

"My Name is Tam Lin...The eldest son of Lady Thorn..." Tam said.

"Have an obstetrical course?" She asked the Dojo was minimalist.

"Yes, not to the equivalent for which you trained...but learning new skills is always an adventure..."

"Lead the way..."

Tam smiled, leading her to the slacklines...

The slack lines required paying attention, not only to balance but to the other person on the line. After a few spills off the lowest line, Stubbornness took over. Tam watched with amusement, Slack-lining was a skill some of the singer's excelled at as well as rafter walking. The Witcher was finding them a challenge, all the better. He watched over her as she trained, kind of like Geralt.

Sore and hungry, Ciri finally conceded. She would have to find a way to put them up in Ker Morhen. Tam brought her lunch, rolls, cold meat and cheese.

"...I heard mention of the King's ravens..."

"Yes, we wear raven helms and do not speak..." Tam said. "I also trained with my mother's guard...The bloody thorns..."

"I noticed there are no armored guards..."

"The Court of Thorns needs few...it is mostly a place of sanctuary. We are lucky enough not to live far from the Royal seat...his majesty will provide guards if needed. " He smiled. "and almost everyone in the court can defend themselves in some way...including the children. I've been hit harder in places by my little brother than any grown man..."

The footsteps of two, dressed in the court Livery came.

"Tam Lin, Lady Ciri...the lady Thorn has requested you come to her study, we will be having guests soon..."

Tam knew by the tone that the expected guests were a tad unwelcome. Only two types of guests were referred to in that tone. A delegation Aen Elle or an Astro with a stick up their ass. The guard's expression said it was a combination of both.

"Atara does not call one to her study lightly...and I think it best we go with all due haste. Having them discover you here...a lot of questions my Atara does not wish to answer..."

Ciri nodded, "Avallac'h?"

"He will be guarded, and I doubt they will wish to see the healing rooms," Tam said. "Our Court Sage will ensure they do not wander..."

Ciri followed, Wondering if Avallac'h was right, Lady Thorn was not to be trusted.

Tam was not surprised to see his Sire there, already looking like he had a headache, with his mother. Pen gestured for them to sit. She would give instruction and they would listen.

"I am including you Lady Ciri, as I will not treat you like you are a fragile vessel or lesser. I do not make the mistake of your mentors..." Pen said. "I only ask that you take my words as advice of one who knows..." She took in a breath. "We are expecting a Delegation of Aen Elle, one of their sages decided to settle with us rather than in their granted lands and they desire to look down their noses at us...Sidhe and human included." She placed her hands on the desk. "I will ask that you stay in the healing rooms, or in the Archive halls, both are guarded and warded..."

"The two places that we doubt they will wish to visit...the sage will meet them directly" Nuada spoke. "...Forgive me, I should introduce myself I am Nuada Aep Danu, member of his majesty's court and Lesion for their visit..."

Tam had to admit his sire was getting good ad being someone else when he was at the court of thorns. He must have been taking lessons from Jareth. Ciri listened, someone was treating her as an equal.

"You'll be assigning Aethen then?"

"He will be Guarding the healing rooms, Cullen will be in the library and Archive.."

"Then that will leave Rhi as your guard..." Tam said. "Are you sure she is ready..."

"Yes, she received her mark a week ago...it will be a light-duty for her and it will show that there are not just males in my guard..."

Ciri was surprised, "...Women?"

"Rhiannon, is in service to the court, she chose to serve as a Bloody Thorn rather a lady in waiting...she completed her training a week ago and took the thorn's mark." Pen said. "Wither she stays or finds other pursuits is her choice, but taking the mark is not done lightly. I think she will stay."

Nuada stood. "...They will be here soon, best to be proper and polished..."

Pen nodded, "Tam would you be so kind as to take Lady Ciri back to her mentor..."

Tam nodded. "I'll see her settled in and arrange some of the high table food to be spared for her..."

Pen nodded, seeing them out...


	3. Chapter 3

Ciri woke to a gentle shake and the smell of breakfast. Lady Pen had brought it along with a few pain killers and fresh bandaging.

"...I've arranged a bath for you." Pen said. "He'll need a thorough one and It would not be a good idea for him to bathe alone..."

Ciri's cheeks reddened slightly.

"...I doubt you've not seen a naked man..." Pen asked.

She knew that being in close quarters with the thieves she would have seen naked men and women.

"...Just not him..." Ciri mumbled under breath.

Pen heard it and hid her smile. Ciri's reaction said she did find Avallac'h attractive. Pen woke the sage and got called seven kinds of names getting him into a sitting position.

"Crab apple..." Ciri murmured in elder speech.

That got a glare from the sage, saying she'd called him that before at some point after learning Elder Speech. Pen made a note to ask Crevan of it, and perhaps even call him that on occasion.

~Crab apple, more like a Sour one at the moment...~ Pen thought with amusement.

"...A bath and some food...for both of you." Pen said. "no arguments..."

Both were brought to a bath chamber, tubs of various kinds were set about the room. One of the Elvin style sunken ones was brimming with hot water.

Pen got Avallac'h undressed, Ciri went to undress behind a screen. Being a healer, there was little she hadn't seen before. She had admired the tattoo when she'd been treating his wounds. It was different from the knots and thorns that Nuada had chosen upon their formal marriage. It had been more so after the addition of the bramble and knot-work.

Ciri noticed Pen hand hiked up her trousers and tied back her sleeves. She'd be helping. She also saw the Twining bramble vines up Pen's arms. She looked from Pen to Avallac'h. Their tattoos something she'd not expected. The sage didn't parade around naked in front of Ciri and so she would have had no idea of their extent. Pen took note of the rose on Ciri's thigh. Avallac'h did too and turned away.

"...I could not explain it to you..." Avallac'h said, his cheeks and the tips of his ears darkening. "Shall we get this done with, I feel very much exposed..."

She got him sat into the tub and left him for a moment to get soap and then proceeded to scrub him raw.

It was after they had been scrubbed and polished, that Ciri had enough curiosity to ask about the tattoo, but asked Pen and not Avallac'h. Pen obliged her to the basics, as the Sage would have not stopped blushing trying to explain.

"...Royal Elvin marriages are marked in ink on the bodies of both parties. For the male, it shows how strong of a warrior he is, the more indicate the more courage..." She said. "For the female, they are a sign that she is loved, cared for and sometimes a warrior in her own right."

"Even, um...lower..." Ciri asked, "Like mine..."

Pen laughed, she'd been blocking most of his body and she would not have seen the marks below his Pecks.

"...Yes, but the actual...gift is not..."

The blush Ciri had was amusing. Pen knew she was no virgin but to see her blush on the subject was a good sign.

"Those tattoos show he is very brave, a warrior as well as a sage...Some of them are personal, only meant for the eyes of their intended. I should have remembered, and sent you into one of the curtained alcoves..." Pen said. "He would not have wished you to see them..."

Pen would give her no more than that, it was something so easy to define and hard to explain. Pen rose and left her to eat in peace.

#

Ciri all but fled when the offer to stroll in the Court gardens was presented. She was frustrated with Avallac'h's insistence on learning control. Her attention span had shortened with each try, each failure. The distance would help both clear their heads.

Avallac'h cursed himself, at this rate Tir Na Lia would be a glacier by the time Ciri mastered her powers. He looked up when Pen came in to prod him again, looking weary.

"...I see she took advantage of our healers showing her the conservatory..." She said.

"She has no control...power...willful..."

"What child does...?" Pen said. "She still is a child...despite her appearance." She checked his wounds. "These look much better, the scaring will be minimal..."

"Good to know..."

She noticed he was not really listening.

"Where are you planting roods, apple tree..."

That shook him from his thoughts.

"...Lara used to ask me that."

Pen smiled, "...You still love her."

She half expected the cliche "always" out of his mouth.

"I did, for a very long time..." He said. "And I would ask you not to pry further."

"As you desire." Pen said, "You can trust me, Avallac'h...You and Ciri as safe here..."

He looked her over, seeking a weak point.

"...I think I should leave you now. Let you cool your head."

Pen left, Leaving him to the brooding of his kind.

#

Pen opened the door, to Ciri's gasp. The fool sage was in the middle of a lesson and the table, both stools, and a fire iron crashed to the ground with clangs, bangs, and thumps...Head still aching from the sound of the explosion Pen winced at each sound. Several things broke upon hitting the ground, leaving a stunned Ciri in the aftermath. She let out a sigh, glaring at them, her temper frayed.

"...Clean this up..." Was all she send and went back out.

At least they were safe and oblivious.

#

The gentle knock before someone entered alerted Ciri she and Avallac'h they would be having a visit from the Lady Thorn or one of the many healers. She was surprised when it wasn't, this time Nuada had decided to visit.

"...Lady Cirilla, Avallac'h..." He said. "I've come to extend an invitation for dinner in the main hall tonight.."

They had been taking their meals here, but the opportunity to see the court in its finery made Ciri brighten.

"Pen thought it good you get to see a bit more than these rooms...or the gardens." He said. "We will have appropriate clothes, and finery if you wish it..."

He watched Ciri darken at the mention of finery, a slight scowl. It was the same slight scowl he saw on Avallac'h's face.

~That particular apple did not fall far from the tree...~ He thought, ~I've seen the same scowl on Pen's face when she's told she has to wear "queen's clothes" to dinner.~

"You won't be prodded and polished too much..." He said. "It is more of an informal affair, and our guests have departed..." He gave that lopsided smile/smirk Pen adored. "...And Pen cannot stand being stuffed into a gown."

A tailor and seamstress swept in, Nuada departed.

Dinner reminded Ciri of those held in her grandmother's court, though on a slightly tamer level. The mix of delicate and conversation seemed a bit laxer and there was calm there had not been there. Avallac'h must have been feeling better, as he asked her to dance, claiming that to dance enhanced control and sword work.

It was awkward watching them, remembering learning to dance the court dances. Nuada was amused. Until Ciri stormed out, toward the balcony. Pen hung her head in her hands. She watched Avallac'h count to a hundred in Elder before pursuing her.

"Brash, both of them..." Nuada said. "...Should we expect Crevan to show up at your study in a fit of self-pity tonight?"

"No, he agreed to spend the night in town, at the Orb-weaver."

"So he is not our problem tonight..."

"Crevan is not, Avallac'h however..."

The sound of an argument rang out, she was fleeing him again. Whatever he'd said on the balcony was making things worse. Pen began to rise to intervene.

"Let them sort it..." Nuada said, holding her arm. "They will need to if the world is to be free of the creeping frost..."

The sound of a slap, and tears. The Sage returned, a large red mark on his face, Ciri did not.

Pen excused herself before she gave the Sage the sharp edge of her tongue. She found Ciri standing on a near-deserted patio on the other side of the main hall.

"He's a bastard..." Ciri sobbed.

"All men are at some point..." Pen said, holding out a mug, she'd snatched two from the trays. "...tell me what caused you to haul off and slap him like that?"

"...Said I had to stop thinking like a scared child." Ciri said taking the mug.

~Yep, that would do it...~ Pen thought. ~Elven arrogance strikes again...~

"...You are not, in essence, a child, have not been since you Left Ker Morhen..."

"...Where do the stories say my road leads?"

~and with the hard questions...~

"...To defeat the White cold..." Pen said.

"You won't tell me more?"

"No, I cannot...too much knowledge would taint the decisions you have to make, and not all of it will bring joy..."

"...Does he survive?"

Pen turned, taking a drink.

"Many survive...some find the peace they were looking for." Pen said, then realized something. "...you're not talking about Geralt are you?"

Ciri went silent, telling Pen exactly who the swallow was asking after.

"I cannot answer that..." Pen said. "It too would taint your decisions..."

"What can you answer..."

"That beneath the arrogance is a wounded heart." She said. "You hold a dangerous gift, one that armies would fight and die for...that could spell destruction for many worlds." She drank again. "...powerful enough that Lara Dorn hid away her firstborn child..."

Ciri hung her head, hearing but not.

"I don't want it..."

There it was, what hid behind the stubbornness, fear. She did not blame Ciri for not wanting the gift. She had not wanted to see the dark futures that had played in her head either.

"I did not want what I saw..." Pen said.

Ciri looked at her. "...Darkness."

"Yes...the nightmares, blood and death..." She said. "It finally stopped when Dier and Nod were born. I thought it has gone for good, then my daughter woke with her first nightmare..." She frowned. "...Quiet nights were rare until she was able to begin learning..." She smiled. "Control is knowing when to focus a beam of sunlight through a magnifying glass...or off a bronze mirror."

"...You sound like you know..."

Pen smirked. "...I have four children and have taught many since becoming guild head...I know what control can do." She looked and saw one of her guards. "Come on, back to dinner...no need to make the males any more worried..."

Ciri followed her inside.

Nuada watched the two women return, as the sage rose. He yanked him down to get a full-on scowl. He ignored it, he did not want any more disturbance this evening.

"...Do you want to get slapped again?" Nuada asked. "Because if you go stomping over there like an angry bull, you are and not just by Ciri...Pen packs a good left hook..." He frowned. "The hangover will be enough of a headache...I would not wish to add an aching jaw to that."

The sage grumped and remained in his seat.

Pen returned to her seat as Ciri went dancing with another, the joy on her face. The music had changed, more rousing and tavern-like.

"...Lady Pen..." One of the musicians called out. "Come sing with us..."

Pen rose, downed her mug and went over to sing bawdy songs with the band. Nuada knew she would be very happy by the end of the night. Ciri seemed to be enjoying herself as well, being chatted up by both men and women her age.

"...Pen will not let her get into bed with anyone, most of those around her have a taste for their own gender..."

He saw the sage Stiffen, indicating he knew of the lover Ciri had prior to her training.

"...You will not turn her head with demands," Nuada said. "Nor with silence..."

"Lady Pen is..."

"Human, yes...but she had lived among the unseen since she was a small child," Nuada said. "It took me a long time to see that she was more of us than them."

"You live beside them?"

"We have our problems still, those did not vanish with the stroke of a pen or sword," Nuada said. "Now there is a new batch of troubles, old reasons that hold no more..." He watched Pen stand on a table and belt out a Shanty. "...I should go retrieve her before she has too much fun..."

He rose and went to the table and scooped her off it, sending up a torrent of laughter as he spun her in his arms.

Ciri came back to the High table laughing and leaning on the shoulder of a young woman in leathers. The woman made sure Ciri sat before bidding her good night, then leaned over and saucily nipped Avallac'h's ear tip before walking off. Ciri watched her mentor jolt upright, as a shudder when through him. The bawdy laughter rang back as the woman returned to the celebrations. He rubbed it absently as if the sensation was foreign to him.

"...Who was that?"

Ciri decided he was more shocked than angry, but his reaction was something to file away.

"Rhiannon...Lady Thorn sent me back here with her." She said. "I did not expect her to do that..."

Aethen appeared behind them, amused. Rhi always did like her males to be silver foxes, Espically Aiden. He saw the Bard playing a tune and flirting with a red headed Singer until Rhi came to pull his head away.

"Rhiannon likes both genders." He said. "She was flirting with you..."

"If that was flirting..." Avallac'h said, rubbing the tip still.

"And she likes to startle, I assure you if she was inclined to choose either of you tonight that nip would be much more than flirting."

Rhiannon was being spun around in the arms of another Half-elf, looking down into his eyes with lust. Obviously her bed partner for the night.

Pen and Nuada returned to the table, giggling happily. Pen noticed the look of envy that Avallac'h gave them, then a side glance at Ciri. She turned and clapped her hands, all turned their attention to her.

"...Ladies and gentlefolk." Pen said. "I know many of you must be up with the sun...so you don't have to go home but you cannot stay here..."

Slowly the hall emptied, in twos and threes in some cases. The students would likely raid the still the teachers were supposed to know nothing about, and the elders spend a few hours in their lover's arms or in the taverns.

Soon all that remained were them, the guards and very efficient kitchen staff. Aethen dismissed all the guards but Cullen and poured himself a mug from the remaining pitcher on the table. One by one each did the same, On a normal night, Crevan would be joining them for this ritual, an indication that one belonged in the inner circle.

"To the court..." Pen said.

"The Court..." came the echo and all downed the liquid to the dregs.

Aethen straightened himself and smiled.

"I'll be spending the night with Tindel..." He said. "I'll make sure our sage gets home safe..."

Pen acknowledged his words, Cullen said something on similar lines. Rhiannon came with her elf in tow, asking if she needed anything else... She was gone by the time Pen finished shaking her head.

"...Most dinners end like this..." Nuada said. "Informal ones anyway..."

A plate of sweets appeared on the table, honey-drenched fried dough.

"A simple sweet..." Pen said and took one.

"...eat your fill..."

Ciri practically dove into the plate.


	4. Chapter 4

Note: Pen's Middle son is named Dian Cecht, which is also the title of a personal Royal healer, So goes by Gideon when he does not wish to flaunt his title

* * *

Ciri aided Avallac'h into a tunic, the bandages changed again. Their escort to the gardens showed up, a young half-elf, eyes hidden behind smoked lenses and a tall cane in hand. He was dressed in near the same as Pen when they had first met her. He wore the same plaid over his shoulder, though his brooch was roses twined with notes, most likely his personal device. He used the cane to navigate the room toward them.

"You're..." Ciri said.

"Blind, yes...but not as one would expect, my eyes are strange and light makes them hurt. I Have found it...better to behave like a blind man." He said. "My name is Gideon, I am Lady Thorn's son and Second among the healers...my Atara wanted a second set of senses to insure healing."

"...You will be showing us the garden's..."

"Yes, and the Glass garden as you asked..." Gideon said. "...maybe a little time for lunch among the trees in the center of the garden..."

The soft pad tap of the cane on the stone seemed soothing, a quiet sound to focus on as they moved through the halls.

"...I noticed something..."

"Our attire?" Gideon said. "We take much of it from the Aen Saeveherne, to honor them." He led them onto the garden path, "The plaid is of the Court of thorns...You will see it much."

They were in a secluded spot when Giddion stopped for a moment. He tilted his head, listening to something far off.

"I must leave you here for a time...I'm being called way..."

Gideon left them in the small hedge alcove, letting them enjoy the quiet.

Ciri got Avallac'h to sit, she'd been in a jumble since they had arrived. She had wanted to see him immediately. Now in the few days since she'd watched the healers. Her ankle felt better, the brace holding it enough to walk. Avallac'h was quiet as well...

"A crown for your thoughts?" She said.

"The Lady Thorn, she hides things..." He said. "I would be wary of her..."

Yes, leave it to him to plant those seeds.

"...She has been kind." Ciri said. "Said the Hunt would not find us for a while..."

"And we only have her word..."

"She said her husband was of the High Court..."

"...Lies can be told..." He said.

"and you would know so much about that..." She snapped. "You've told me near nothing but at Tir Na Lir..."

"You are too valuable..."

She gave him an icy green stare before rising and stomping off a short distance on the paths. 

Avallac'h cursed himself, it always happened with her. He meant well, she had looked too much like Lara until the scar. He still drew her without it, but could not tell her. His emotions rolled between lust, hate and...he wanted to scream. He watched Ciri stomp by for the third time.

"I am a fool..." He said to himself.

Ciri came back to sit beside him in cool silence. He glanced at her, she was beautiful. He knew she feared to take a male lover. He wanted to take her in his arms, stake the rolling emotions. He reached and took her hand. Her first reaction was to pull away, he let her.

"I apologize...We have been to too many places...too dangerous"

She was slightly shocked, had he just apologized.

"I can admit when I am wrong..." He confessed. "but it will not be often..."

Now there was the man she was used to, too proud to bend. They had sat in a comfortable silence until Gideon returned with a basket. He bade them follow.

The trees were in bloom, a bit out of season but then again they were not normal trees. He thought this a better place than the small hedge alcove. He was observing them, listening to the way Avallac'h breathed and the small sounds that indicated pain. He had treated enough of the court to know when an elf was not healing properly...

"...I will have my Atara look at your wounds again..." Gideon said. "One is not healing properly..."

Avallac'h noticed the sharp intake of breath from Ciri, there and gone. It indicated she cared, and maybe more.

"It does not hurt..." He said.

Gideon pulled out bandages from the basket as well and containers of food.

"I want a look at it too..."

He obliged the healer if something happened to him...he would not let her face the hunt alone. He could not let Eriden get his hands upon her, loose the elder Blood.

"...Damn," Gideon swore, one of the wounds was broken open and angry red lines radiated from the blackened hole in the epicenter. "...We will need deride it...back at the manor..."

Avallac'h suddenly did not feel good, The prodding of the wound brought nausea, perhaps the healers had brought him up too soon. He managed to crawl a short distance and purge his meager breakfast into the flower bed. Ciri was at his side in a blink, as he began to shake...His last thoughts before blacking out were of the expression of worry on her face. 

Ciri sat beside Avallac'h's bed, the second examination of one of the wounds said poison. One specific for crippling or killing a Sage. It had gone undetected as its nature. They had put him under again, cleaned the wounds and bound them. The Hunt knew who aided her in escaping after Aubron's death. How could they not?

"I keep forgetting who leads what hunts you." Pen said "I should have suspected...I am sorry..."

"You could not have known..." Ciri said, not really focused "I should have seen..."

"You would not have noticed the subtle signs, it was why I wanted another set of senses...I was right to do that."

"Is there a cure?"

"Yes, it's being brewed now..."

Pen put her hand on Ciri's shoulder.

"...He cares of you more than you think..." She said.

She watched a moment, before leaving the swallow to her vigil over the Fox.


	5. Chapter 5

Pen did not expect Crevan to be waiting in her study. The sage looked like he had been very shaken by something. He was quick to assay her fear that he might be ill.

"I was passed the Stillroom." He said. "You're brewing the antidote...I still remember that smell, it makes me nauseous..."

"Purging that particular poison is not pleasant...Though I doubt The Trial of the Grasses was any more pleasant..."

"No, it was not." He said. "The price I paid to have my own form again." His fingers twitched, he put one hand over the other to still them. "...I would find what happening between those two amusing if I had not lived one side of it...I was seven kinds of a fool..."

"Hindsight..." She went to a cabinet and pulled out a dark-colored bottle." Dragon's kiss: Cinnamon, ginger and chili pepper..."

She pulled out two glasses and poured a measure in each. Crevan downed his and made a wheezing noise. Pen knocked her's back and winced.

"...I now wish you'd given me this foul brew rather than that one..." He said trying to ease the burning on his lips and tongue.

"...Needs honey..." She said. "I'll duly note that with the next brewing." She set the cup down."You didn't come here for just a drink..."

"No, I read the tome...I think it best the lie stand." He said. "He had a life, children...far from my obsessions...: He looked at her, her green eyes. "...I wanted to believe she had left me, to hate the Mage...She came to see me, asked me...I would not listen. In the end, I did exactly what she asked me to do...Find her again." He drew his gaze away. "Ciri was a near copy, but she was not Lara...I forgot that for a time."

"How long did it take after the Frost?"

"I found her shivering in the tower's center, frost clinging to her hair. I took her to warmth, let her thaw her limbs..." He said. "Geralt was waiting by the fire. He went to Emhyr, told him she was dead. I thought to be scarce for a while as well."

He rubbed his finger, a wedding band must have rested there once, no doubt buried with the Swallow.

"I met her again while she was on the path, Dandilion's tavern...I was drunk off my arse. I had little else to do. I could not return to Tir Na Lir...I did not wish to deal with Ge'els." He sighed. "...She stomped over, pulled me out off the bench, dunked me in the nearest horse-trough and poured me into bed, I woke up looking into the gap in her shirt..."

She heard the Amusement and the horror of waking up in a position that could get you slapped or castrated.

"I got a lecture...and a massive hangover..." He said. "She asked me to travel with her again, we traveled..." He closed his eyes. "We...bedded each other in a tavern in a remote nameless village in the blue mountains during a snow storm. We ended up with frost in a few places because the fire went out..." He took a breath. "We wintered there, then one spring day she was gone...a letter with two words...find me."

"Did you...?"

"Yes, in Toussaint, at the Winery..." he said. "It was a clever way to get me to talk to them, ask for her hand... I did so after I was teleported into a bog...Yennifer was not one you crossed Sage or no when it came to Ciri...all the more when we had children..."

"You spent some time there...?"

"...Yes, much to my dismay. Though I found a type of Solace when Geralt dragged me out into the rows of grapes. Both of us clueless as to their growing, We learned after the batch of vinegar..."

"it was quite prized if the records are correct..." Pen said.

"Yes..." He stood up. "His majesty informed me that there was to be a grand ball tonight, and requests that Lady Thorn attend..."

Pen grumbled. "Guild or queen?"

"I took it to mean guild, but three seamstresses' arrived shortly after..."

"Queen then..."

"I have come to know that tone means you will have a sharp tongue by the end of the night."

"I'll not turn it upon you, your Aen Elle brethren I call no promises..."

He inclined his head and left for his office in the Archive.

Pen was in a foul mood by the time she arrived at the ball, buffed and prodded into a Royal gown. She sat stiff and serious at Nuada's side. He squeezed her hand, promising her an outlet to vent her mood.

"...I would have him out on his ass..." Nuada said when the ball was over and they were in the Dojo taking out their frustrations in a sparring session. "I like the Aen Elle less that you do...They insulted every envoy I introduced them to..."

"I agree they have upset the balance we worked so hard for..."

The sound of wood to metal, her blades against the haft of the lance.

"the Viceroy asked of Crevan...I said he was happy among us."

"I should expect..." She blocked the leaf-shaped blade from pricking the button on her tunic. "A delegation at the Court of Thorns?"

"Most likely...They do not believe one of their own can change."

She slipped under his guard the point of her blade under his chin.

"Point..." She said.

"I concede..." He said. "You've gotten faster since the twins were born..."

"It was a necessity..." She said. "I should get back...the Court has a lot to prepare for..."

"Stay a little longer, I will have Navigators return you in the morning."

"If you wish it of me..."

He smiled as he set aside his lance, he intended to make the rest of the evening was much more pleasant...


	6. Chapter 6

Ciri learns a new skill...

* * *

Ciri had asked if there was a place to train and was escorted to the manor's Dojo. Much to her surprise, there were already several people there. One stood out, he was using sticks to fend off the four "attackers". Many curses followed as he knocked them down.

"No fair, Tam Lin..." One of them said. "You've trained with the guard..."

"All the better...the king's ravens are the best...next to thorns of course..." Tam said, then saw her. "Lady Ciri..."

All turned to see her, some excused themselves leaving Tam and two others. He bowed to her.

"My Name is Tam Lin...The eldest son of Lady Thorn..." Tam said.

"Have an obstetrical course?" She asked the Dojo was minimalist.

"Yes, not to the equivalent for which you trained...but learning new skills is always an adventure..."

"Lead the way..."

Tam smiled, leading her to the slacklines... 

The slack lines required paying attention, not only to balance but to the other person on the line. After a few spills off the lowest line, Stubbornness took over. Tam watched with amusement, Slacklining was a skill some of the singer's excelled at as well as rafter walking. The Witcher was finding them a challenge, all the better. He watched over her as she trained, kind of like Geralt.

Sore and hungry, Ciri finally conceded. She would have to find a way to put them up in Ker Mohren. Tam brought her lunch, rolls, cold meat and cheese.

"...I heard mention of the King's ravens..."

"Yes, we wear raven helms and do not speak..." Tam said. "I also trained with my mother's personal guard...The bloody thorns..."

"I noticed there are no armored guards..."

"The court of thorns needs few...it is mostly a place of sanctuary. We are lucky enough not to live far from the Royal seat...his majesty will provide guards if needed. " He smiled. "and almost everyone in the court can defend themselves in some way...including the children. I've been hit harder in places by my little brother than any grown man..."

The footsteps of two, dressed in the court Livery came.

"Tam Lin, Lady Ciri...the lady Thorn has requested you come to her study, we will be having guests soon..."

Tam knew by the tone that the expected guests were a tad unwelcome. Only two types of guests were referred to in that tone. A delegation Aen Elle or an Astro with a stick up their ass. The guard's expression said it was a combination of both.

"Atara does not call one to her study lightly...and I think it best we go with all due haste. Having them discover you here...a lot of questions my Atara does not wish to answer..."

Ciri nodded, "Avallac'h?"

"He will be guarded, and I doubt they will wish to see the healing rooms," Tam said. "Our Court Sage will ensure they do not wander..."

Ciri followed, Wondering if Avallac'h was right, Lady Thorn was not to be trusted. 

Tam was not surprised to see his Sire there, already looking like he had a headache, with his mother. Pen gestured for them to sit. She would give instruction and they would listen.

"I am including you Lady Ciri, as I will not treat you like you are a fragile vessel or lesser. I do not make the mistake of your mentors..." Pen said. "I only ask that you take my words as advice of one who knows..." She took in a breath. "We are expecting a Delegation of Aen Elle, one of their sages decided to settle with us rather than in their granted lands and they desire to look down their noses at us...Sidhe and human included." She placed her hands on the desk. "I will ask that you stay in the healing rooms, or in the Archive halls, both are guarded and warded..."

"The two places that we doubt they will wish to visit...the sage will meet them directly" Nuada spoke. "...Forgive me, I should introduce myself I am Nuada Aep Danu, member of his majesty's court and Lesion for their visit..."

Tam had to admit his sire was getting good ad being someone else when he was at the court of thorns. He must have been taking lessons from Jareth. Ciri listened, someone was treating her as an equal.

"You'll be assigning Aethen then?"

"He will be Guarding the healing rooms, Cullen will be in the library and Archive.."

"Then that will leave Rhi as your guard..." Tam said. "Are you sure she is ready..."

"Yes, she received her mark a week ago...it will be a light-duty for her and it will show that there are not just males in my guard..."

Ciri was surprised, "...Women?"

"Rhiannon, is in service to the court, she chose to serve as a Bloody Thorn rather a lady in waiting...she completed her training a week ago and took the thorn's mark." Pen said. "Wither she stays or finds other pursuits is her choice, but taking the mark is not done lightly. I think she will stay."

Nuada stood. "...They will be here soon, best to be proper and polished..."

Pen nodded, "Tam would you be so kind as to take Lady Ciri back to her mentor..."

Tam nodded. "I'll see her settled in and arrange some of the high table food to be spared for her..."

Pen nodded, seeing them out...


	7. Chapter 7

Note: Avallac'h means apple tree, I made Crab apple an endearment as it is a variety of apple tree and face it...no matter your feelings on his actions...he was grumpy...

* * *

It was a few hours later that Ciri was surprised by Pen bringing in two large trays. One held a full meal, the other what looked like bottles of some murky liquid.

"I would have brought you elsewhere to eat, but our guests insisted on inspecting the kitchen and bringing their own cooks. Like we do not know how to prepare Elven food..."

She set down both trays. Pointing Ciri to the food. Pen's tone said she was annoyed.

"Forgive me, I have never been one for the fancy trappings of nobility, in dress or in manners...So I avoid them whenever possible...dealing with them sharpens my tongue and temper..." She said. "We will be waking Avallac'h to administer the antidote..."

"...I know some of these." Ciri said. "A base of White Gull?"

"Close, Moonshine and grain spirit..." Pen said. "Best for tincturing..."

"Why are you doing this..." Ciri asked. "Sheltering us, hiding us..."

Pen took in a breath, "I was asked to, and considering I am glad too..."

She smiled.

"Eat and I will wake your mentor, a little time awake before I give him the antidote will do good."

Ciri watched as Pen stroked certain Places on Avallac'h's face, his brow, cheeks, temples.

"Something to learn..." Pen said as Avallac'h's eyes fluttered open. "An elf will drop into reverie with a certain pattern, the reverse wakes them...and it is a state they will not fight if gravely injured..."

Avallac'h groaned, he was not wanting to be awake. The pain of the poison burning under his skin.

"I'm going to set you up so you can take the antidote...I do not want it going in your lungs..." She turned to Ciri. "Aid me, please..."

Pen instructed, Ciri followed. She brought back one of the bottles and gently put it to his lips. He swallowed, making protests at the taste.

"I cannot sweeten these..." Pen said softly. "I'm sorry..."

Finishing her task, she reached under the bed with her foot and pulled out a basin.

"I would turn away..." Pen said a moment before what looked like black goop hit the basin.

It was violent, painful and disgusting, but Pen kept giving him more she had to, along with profuse apologies when Ciri sprinted from the room to be Ill herself. 

When Ciri returned, a small army of servants and cleaned and the room smelled somewhat fresh. The evergreen and sweet wood in the fire helped. The food was gone, leaving a small bowl broth and bread. Something she could stomach after what she'd witnessed. Avallac'h was sleeping again, cleaned up and fresh bandages. A cot was next to the hearth, with blankets for her to remain there. She managed a bit of the broth and bread before she crawled into the blankets and slept. 

Pen sat in her study, staring into the candle flame, trying to clear the sights and smells from her mind. A mug appeared before her, set by Elven fingers. She looked up it wasn't Nuada but Crevan.

"...Some of that fizzy ginger stuff his majesty says you like..." He took a seat. "...I told Ge' els I was happy, that what was here was worthy of me...He will listen since it has come from me."

"He still slings words like daggers..."

"Yes, and some hit their mark." He said. "As they always did...now it is Ciri instead of Lara..."

"I'd offer a drink, but I do not think either of us would stop tonight at one."

"...True, I was going to go see Regis, get a jug of that hooch he brews..."

"Mandrake Moonshine...loosens tongues, bodice strings, and other things..."

He laughed, A rich sound few ever heard out of him now. For his two loves, he'd smiled easy, laughed in joy, done so with his children. Pen knew his heart was not in him, sure there was a muscle in his body that kept him alive, but his heart had flown to the summer lands with them.

"...It is nights like this that I miss her. Yet do to her gifts, she is rooms away. I thought it best to avoid the healing rooms tonight, too many memories fill my head."

"You are not the male who saw the whole map of her destiny...not anymore..."

"True, now I am an old grumpy Sage who cannot even stand my own people..." A smile tugged at his lips. "A Crab apple indeed..."

Pen smiled, the journal had said, that had been Ciri's favorite nickname for him, due to his grumpy nature.

"...I would have liked to hear you give Ge'els the sharp edge of your tongue tonight, calling him the son of a hamster in Elder Speech would have been amusing."

"I was tempted, but I do not think he would have gotten the humor of that line..." She said. "It doesn't land without the Elderberry reference..."

She drank a bit of the ginger brew in the mug. She maintained a small collection of DVDs that used a player and tv that ran off solar power, "Monty Python and the Holy grail" was one she would show to the Singers on a regular basis.

"I could have farted in his general direction too, but that would just have been rude..." She said. "...You are not just venting or running an errand tonight are you?"

"I did not wish to be alone. I could have gone to see one of my grandchildren or to the Orb Weaver...nither seemed right. Talking to you does."

"Because I've seen all of you and even poked around in your insides?" She asked.

"Yes, you have done that." His voice took on a weary tone. "...It was the name of the court that made me decide, a memory of realizing it was here I felt something for a woman who might never accept my intentions were nothing more than motivated by her bloodline. It took us worlds, and long years before we realized..." He rose. "I think I should go, I've burdened you enough..."

"Crevan..."

He didn't turn around as he walked out the door.

"You are still a fool..." Pen said as she downed the rest of the mug "...a wise one but still a fool..."

She rose and shook her head, perhaps a bath would clear the stench of bodily fluids and vomit from her brain.


	8. Chapter 8

Note: Gave a reason that Avallac'h would be tattooed (THe Fandom Wiki gives a pic of it from the game) and why he would not want them seen by Ciri.

* * *

Ciri woke to a gentle shake and the smell of breakfast. Lady Pen had brought it along with a few pain killers and fresh bandaging.

"...I've arranged a bath for you." Pen said. "He'll need a thorough one and It would not be a good idea for him to bathe alone..."

Ciri's cheeks reddened slightly.

"...I doubt you've not seen a naked man..."

"...Just not him..." Ciri mumbled under breath.

Pen heard it and hid her smile. Ciri's reaction said she did find Avallac' attractive. Pen woke the sage and got called seven kinds of names getting him into a sitting position.

"Crab apple..." Ciri murmured in elder speech.

~Crab apple, more like a Sour one now...~ Pen thought.

"...A bath and some food...for both of you." Pen said. "no arguments..."

Both were brought to a bath chamber, tubs of various kinds were set about the room. One of the Elvin style sunken ones was brimming with hot water. 

Pen got Avallac'h undressed, Ciri went to undress behind a screen. Being a healer, there was little she hadn't seen before. She had admired the tattoo when she'd been treating his wounds. It was different from the knots and thorns that Nuada had chosen upon their formal marriage. 

Ciri noticed Pen hand hiked up her trousers and tied back her sleaves. She'd be helping. She also saw the Twining bramble vines up Pen's arms. She looked from Pen to Avallac'h. Their tattoos something she'd not expected. The sage didn't parade around naked in front of Ciri and so she would have had no idea.

"...I could not explain it to you..." Avallac'h said. "Shall we get this done with, I feel very much exposed..."

She got him sat into the tub and left him for a moment to get soap and then proceeded to srub him raw. 

It was after they had been scrubbed and polished, that Ciri had enough curiosity to ask about the tattoo, but asked Pen and not Avallac'h. Pen obliged her to the basics, as the Sage would have not stopped blushing.

"Royal Elvin marriages are marked in ink on the bodies of both parties. For the male, it shows how strong of a warrior he is, the more indicate the more courage..." She said. "For the female, they are a sign that she is loved, cared for and sometimes a warrior in her own right."

"Even, um...lower..."

Pen laughed. "...Yes, but the actual...gift is not..."

The blush Ciri had was amusing. Pen knew she was no virgin but to see her blush on the subject was a good sign.

"Those tattoos show he is very brave, a warrior as well as a sage...Some of them are personal, only meant for the eyes of their intended. I should have remembered, and sent you into one of the curtained alcoves..." Pen said. "He would not have wished you to see them..."

Pen would give her no more than that, it was something so easy to define and hard to explain. Pen rose and left her to eat in peace. 

Pen sighed as she made her way to the Library, a voice she had not heard before was Singing. The voice was not harsh, just unused to the tune. She came to See Crevan and Ge'els sitting at one of the tables, sheet music piled on the table. Crevan paused as She came toward them.

"...None of these can be played on a proper instrument..." Ge'els hissed.

She looked at the music, no you could not pluck out "Wicker man" out on a lute and have it sound the same. She smirked at the thought of trying to sing it in Elder Speech.

"Because it is not meant to be played softly..." Pen said. "The folk music is near the display case with the Brooches..."

She took the stack and moved to get the music, it happened near too fast, the reflection in the glass the crash of the window. She dropped the stack in her arms and ran back to the two elves,

~Fuck, fuck, fuck~ She thought. "Get down..."

She tackled the viceroy as a shield enveloped them...


	9. Chapter 9

A little investigation into the boom...

* * *

The noise of the explosion rocked the whole of the manor and gardens. It sent healers and guards running. Pen's ears were still ringing when the shield dropped. Crevan was wiping away a trickle of blood from his nose, the viceroy lay still stunned. She stumbled to her feet amongst the shattered window and ruined shelving.

"...I will have heads..." She heard Ge'els hiss.

"Get in line..." Came Aethen's voice. "Lady Thorn..."

"...Search the grounds...the bomber could not have gotten far." She said she hurt from slamming to the ground. "See to the viceroy and Crevan...I can wait..."

The healer wouldn't take her protests and got her sitting to check her out. Other healers were dealing with a pair of elves, one who was demanding action. The other grunted when prodded.

"...We've started questioning those closest to the building at the time..." Aethen said. "...They must have been following the viceroy since the library is very much open...line of sight."

she nodded. "Pain tea, the nasty stuff...its the strongest..."

Aethen nodded and directed a healer to bring it. Crevan was soon plunked beside her, the Viceroy hustled off by his own healers and guards.

"...That was thoroughly unpleasant..." Crevan said. "What was that shield...I didn't cast it..."

Pen tapped the broach on her shoulder, the metal glowing but not hot or burning.

"A gift from a very grateful king..." She said. "Myself and anyone within three feet, I'll have to recharge it now...It blocks out shrapnel..."

"...Himself made you that..." Aethen said.

"Yes, and it has come in handy...double the guard, pull from Raven's ranks...I think a few will be glad of talking for a little while."

The healer returned with two small jugs, Pain tea, highly concentrated and tasted like hoof scrapings from a dirty stable. Pen Popped the cork, said a few quick words and downed it, then swore.

"I need to go see our guests..."

Cullen came over. "I'll escort her..."

Aethen nodded. "We'll figure out this mess..." 

Pen opened the door, to Ciri's gasp. The fool sage was in the middle of a lesson and the table, both stools, and a fire iron crashed to the ground with clangs, bangs, and thumps...Head still aching from the sound of the explosion Pen winced at each sound.

"...Clean this up..." Was all she send and went back out.

At least they were safe. 

Nuada had personally come with the small contingent of guards to reinforce the Court garrison. He found her among the debris of the library, sifting through the glass, leading, paper and wood looking for the shards of the bomb.

"...We have not found much, but it was meant to take out our guest..." She said. "Silver and iron..."

He embraced her for a few moments, he'd near lost her so many times.

"I brought more guards, and we are looking in the castle..."

"It's all we can do for now...Repairs start tomorrow..." She said. "I thought about bringing our displaced guests to the dojo to teach them a bit of how to work in sync...they are not even..."

"How long did it take us..." He said. "Do not force this...wither they shag here or in that village..."

"...I would that you would refrain from commenting on my romantic actions...and I nearly lost some tender bits..." Crevan's voice, from the other side of the shelf, returning with a few shards. "...We were lucky, it was just us in here and not the apprentices..."

"They may have been counting on it...maximum damage..."

She smelled something strange, she took one of the shards from his hand and smelled it.

"I know this smell, bittering, I add it to the grain spirit to prevent anyone one from actually drinking it, the vessel at least came from the Storage room...as the last batch I had to use right away..."

"Regis has them too, but he's kept his Still locked down...and he can be very scary about returning the jugs."

She frowned. "...I'll have the storerooms inventoried...it will give the students something to do..."

Nuada and Crevan nodded, the best to get it over right away


	10. Chapter 10

A dangerous find...

* * *

Ciri all but fled when the offer to stroll in the Court gardens was presented. She was frustrated with Avallac'h's insistence on learning control. Her attention span had shortened with each try, each failure. The distance would help both clear their heads. 

Avallac'h cursed himself, at this rate Tir Na Lir would be a glacier by the time Ciri mastered her powers. He looked up when Pen came in to prod him again, looking weary.

"...I see she took advantage of our healers showing her the conservatory..." She said.

"She has no control...power...willful..."

"What child does..." Pen said. "She still is a child...despite her appearance." She checked his wounds. "These look much better, the scaring will be minimal..."

"Good to know..."

She noticed he was not really listening.

"Where are you planting roods, apple tree..."

That shook him from his thoughts.

"...Lara used to ask me that."

Pen smiled, "...You still love her."

She half expected the cliche "always" out of his mouth.

"I did, for a very long time..." He said. "And I would ask you not to pry further."

"As you desire." Pen said, "You can trust me, Avallac'h...You and Ciri as safe here..."

He looked her over, seeking a weak point.

"...I think I should leave you now. Let you cool your head."

Pen left, Leaving him to the brooding of his kind. 

Crevan was waiting at the door to her study, there was news. He waited until they were inside to speak. Neither of them wanted anyone to know the real reason for the inventory.

"Four bottles, two still flasks and a hogshead of black powder..." He said. "That is what is missing...I would not be so concerned about the flasks or bottles...the black powder..."

"That could mean another bomb...Any outcome on the search of the grounds?"

"Well, those roses you have...The one that eats things..."

"The Rosa Carnivora..." She said, amused. "Yes..."

"There were bloody chunks on the thorns and large blooms..."

This was serious, everyone in her court knew enough to stay away from the Golden amber blooms surrounding her private courtyard or end up lunch. Whoever had stumbled into them had no such knowledge.

"They like Royal blood, so whoever ran into them is...was...Royal" She said. "and attempted to enter the private courtyard..."

"The Gardener recovered the bones, we will have more to deliver later..." He took in a breath. "There are rumors already that this is in protest of the Aen Elle's return..."

"We don't know that they might have wanted to take out someone in power..." She said. "He just happened to be there...but there is unrest."

"We increased security in the more public gardens...Lady Ciri seems to be having fun, she was amazed by the plants of this world..."

"And, you know how?" Pen said, knowing the temptation was there.

"As I said, I said Va Fail when she was interred." He said. "But her escorts talk..."

"I have no doubt." She said. "If you find this too hard.."

"I would say so..." He said. "I thank you for the concern, but I knew the risks when I chose to join your court..."

"Maybe Nuada's right, I'm trying to force this..."

He placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I can answer your questions now..." He said. "In a world without the frost, in a Vineyard learning that love takes time...and I still do..."

He removed his hands and left, taking hitching breaths.


	11. Chapter 11

A visit to the Guild's resident Higher vampire...

* * *

Pen found herself in the Libary looking for Regis, she wanted a bottle of the hooch he brewed. He appeared in a cloud of smoke, bottle in hand.

"...I knew you'd come eventually," He said. "All of the Court has at one point or another..."

"I do not normally wish to rot my insides..." She said softly.

"Geralt would say it made people say things they would rather not..."

He set two glasses on the table.

"Have the repairs disturbed you?"

"No, I will remind you that I am not something out of folklore..." He poured a measure into each glass. "...I've had one of the students try to stake me...twice." He downed his glass. "I was coughing up splinters for two days..."

"You can blame one Bram Stoker for that..." She said and downed her glass. "We have a copy of Dracula..."

"One of my assistants recommended I read it...I could not finish, it was absurd..."

Pen smiled, as one of the last of his kind Regis tended to find the legends rather...farcical.

"Its what happens when you disguise smut as High romance..."

He laughed. "Yes, I was reading up on that era...a thin vainer of respectable over rot..."

"Twylight was closer to the truth...but still.."

"Those...I wish to burn them..."

"...I know you don't sparkle..."

"No, I've lost count of who has asked me to bite them...ask me if I know where Jacob is..."

She laughed softly, not sure if he was kidding or serious.

"There is the little pearl I remember..." He said. "...it will straighten itself out, whatever you came to sort, I'll send a bottle to your study...for emergency..." He poured another glass for her. "Here, one more...Then you should get back to your duties."

She downed it and winced, the liquid burning as it went.

"...Thank you, Regis." She said. "the repairs should be done in another two days and you won't have to pin papers down..."

"I look forward to it..."

She rose and made her way back to her quarters, slightly wobbly. 

The gentle knock before someone entered alerted Ciri she and Avallac'h would be having a visit from the Lady Thorn or one of the many healers. She was surprised when it wasn't, this time Nuada had decided to visit.

"...Lady Cirilla, Avallac'h..." He said. "I've come to extend an invitation for dinner in the main hall tonight.."

They had been taking their meals here, but the opportunity to see the court in its finery made Ciri brighten.

"Pen thought it good you get to see a bit more than these rooms..." He said. "We will have appropriate clothes, and finery if you wish it..."

He watched Ciri darken at the mention of finery, a slight scowl. It was the same slight scowl he saw on Avallac'h's face.

~That particular apple did not fall far from the tree...~ He thought, ~I've seen the same scowl on Pen's face when she's told she has to wear "queen's clothes" to dinner.~

"You won't be prodded and polished too much..." He said. "It is more of an informal affair, and our guests have departed..." He gave that lopsided smile/smirk Pen adored. "...And Pen cannot stand being stuffed into a gown."

A tailor and seamstress swept in, Nuada departed.


	12. Chapter 12

Dinner and conversation

* * *

Dinner reminded Ciri of those held in her grandmother's court, though on a slightly tamer level. The mix of edicate and conversation seemed a bit laxer and there was calm there had not been there. Avallac'h must have been feeling better, as he asked her to dance, claiming that to dance enhanced control and sword work.

It was awkward watching them, remembering learning to dance the court dances. Nuada was amused. Until Ciri stormed out, toward the balcony. Pen hung her head in her hands. She watched Avallac'h count to a hundred in Elder before pursuing her.  
"Brash, both of them..." Nuada said. "...Should we expect Crevan to show up at your study in a fit of self-pity tonight?"  
"No, he agreed to spend the night in town."  
"So he is not our problem tonight..."  
"Crevan is not, Avallac'h however..."  
The sound of an argument rang out, she was fleeing him again. Whatever he'd said on the balcony was making things worse.  
"Let them sort it..." Nuada said, holding her arm. "They will need to if the world is to be free of the creeping frost..."  
The sound of a slap, and tears. The Sage returned, a large red mark on his face, Ciri did not.

Pen excused herself before she gave the Sage the sharp edge of her tongue. She found Ciri standing on a near-deserted patio on the other side of the main hall.  
"He's a bastard..." Ciri sobbed.  
"All men are at some point..." Pen said, holding out a mug, she'd snatched two from the trays. "...tell me what caused you to haul off and slap him like that?"  
"...Said I had to stop thinking like a scared child." Ciri said taking the mug.  
~Yep, that would do it...~ Pen thought. ~Elven arrogance strikes again...~  
"...You are not, in essence, a child, have not been since you Left Ker Morhan..."  
"...Where do the stories say my road leads?"  
~and with the hard questions...~  
"...To defeat the White cold..." Pen said.  
"You won't tell me more?"  
"No, I cannot...too much knowledge would taint the decisions you have to make, and not all of it will bring joy..."  
"...Does he survive?"  
Pen turned, taking a drink.  
"Many survive...some find the peace they were looking for." Pen said. "...you're not talking about Geralt are you?"  
Ciri went silent, telling Pen exactly who the swallow was asking after.  
"I cannot answer that..." Pen said. "It too would taint your decisions..."  
"What can you answer..."  
"That beneath the arrogance is a wounded heart." She said. "You hold a dangerous gift, one that armies would fight and die for...that could spell destruction for many worlds." She drank again. "...powerful enough that Lara Dorrn hid away her firstborn child..."  
Ciri hung her head, hearing but not.  
"I don't want it..."  
There it was, what hid behind the stubbornness, fear. She did not blame Ciri for not wanting the gift. She had not wanted to see the dark futures that had played in her head either.  
"I did not want what I saw..." Pen said.  
Ciri looked at her. "...Darkness."  
"Yes...the nightmares, blood and death..." She said. "It finally stopped when Deir and Nod were born. I thought it has gone for good, then my daughter woke with her first nightmare..." She frowned. "...Quiet nights were rare until she was able to begin learning..." She smiled. "Control is knowing when to focus a beam of sunlight through a magnifying glass...or off a bronze mirror."  
"...You sound like you know..."  
Pen smirked. "...I have four children and have taught many since becoming guild head...I know what control can do." She looked and saw one of her guards. "Come on, back to dinner...no need to make the males any more worried..."  
Ciri followed her inside.


	13. Chapter 13

Sweets are served at the end of dinner, a Ritual to mark the inner circle.

* * *

Nuada watched the two women return, as the sage rose. He yanked him down to get a full-on scowl. He ignored it, he did not want any more disturbance this evening.

"...Do you want to get slapped again?" Nuada asked. "because if you go stomping over there like an angry bull, you are and not just by Ciri...Pen packs a good left hook..." He frowned. "The hangover will be enough of a headache...I would not wish to add an aching jaw to that."

The sage grumped and remained in his seat.

Pen returned to her seat as Ciri went dancing with another, the joy on her face. The music had changed, more rousing and tavern-like.

"...Lady Pen..." One of the musicians called out. "Come sing with us..."

Pen rose, downed her mug and went over to sing bawdy songs with the band. Nuada knew she would be very happy by the end of the night. Ciri seemed to be enjoying herself as well, being chatted up by both men and women her age.

"...Pen will not let her get into bed with anyone, most of those around her have a taste for their own gender..."

He saw the sage Stiffen, indicating he knew of the lovers Ciri had.

"...you will not turn her head with demands," Nuada said. "Nor with silence..."

"Lady Pen is..."

"Human, yes...but she had lived among the unseen since she was a small child," Nuada said. "It took me a long time to see that she was more of us than them."

"You live beside them?"

"We have our problems still, those did not vanish with the stroke of a pen or sword," Nuada said. "Now there is a new batch of troubles, old reasons that hold no more..." He watched Pen stand on a table and belt out a Shanty. "...I should go retrieve her before she has too much fun..."

He rose and went to the table and scooped her off it, sending up a torrent of laughter as he spun her in his arms. 

Ciri came back to the High table laughing and leaning on the shoulder of a young woman in leathers. The woman made sure Ciri sat before bidding her good night, then leaned over and saucily nipped Avallac'h's ear tip before walking off. Ciri watched her mentor jolt upright, as a shudder when through him. The bawdy laughter rang back as the woman returned to the celebrations. He rubbed it absently as if the sensation was foreign to him.

"...Who was that?"

Ciri decided he was more shocked than angry, but his reaction was something to file away.

"Rhiannon...lady thorn sent me back here with her." She said. "I did not expect her to do that..."

Aethen appeared behind them, amused. Rhi always did like her males to be silver foxes.

"Rhiannon likes both genders." He said. "She was flirting with you..."

"IF that was flirting..." Avallac'h said, rubbing the tip still.

"And she likes to startle, I assure you if she was inclined to choose either of you tonight that nip would be much more than flirting."

Rhiannon was being spun around in the arms of another elf, looking down into his eyes with lust. Obviously her bed partner for the night. 

Pen and Nuada returned to the table, giggling happily. Pen noticed the look of envy that Avallac'h gave them, then a side glance at Ciri. She turned and clapped her hands, all turned their attention to her.

"...Ladies and gentlefolk." Pen said. "I know many of you must be up with the sun...so you don't have to go home but you cannot stay here..."

Slowly the hall emptied, in twos and threes in some cases. The students would likely raid the still the teachers were supposed to know nothing about, and the elders spend a few hours in their lover's arms or in the taverns.

Soon all that remained were them, the guards and very efficient kitchen staff. Aethen dismissed all the guards but Cullen and poured himself a mug from the remaining pitcher on the table. One by one each did the same, On a normal night, Crevan would be joining them for this ritual, an indication that one belonged in the inner circle.

"To the court..." Pen said.

"The Court..." came the echo and all downed the liquid to the dregs.

Aethen straightened himself and smiled.

"I'll be spending the night with Tindel..." He said. "I'll make sure our sage gets home safe..."

Pen acknowledged his words, Cullen said something on similar lines. Rhiannon came with her elf in tow, asking if she needed anything else... She was gone by the time Pen finished shaking her head.

"...Most dinners end like this..." Nuada said. "Informal ones anyway..."

A plate of sweets appeared on the table, honey-drenched fried dough.

"A simple sweet..." Pen said and took one.

"...eat your fill..."

Ciri practically dove into the plate.


	14. Chapter 14

Note: It is canon that the Aen Elle king was an addict, but it would stand that he would offer it to his inner circle. Avallac'h being promised to Lara he would have participated in the revels and done the same drugs. I have a headcanon that he saw something while on them...that changed his motives to Train and aid Ciri with her powers and scared him enough to cease taking them.

* * *

The morning was met with large cups of what Ciri would learn later were called Coffee. It seemed to be exclusive to human students and elders. Most of the Sidhe avoided it. She found out why when Avallac'h's professional curiosity got the better of him. If a being could literately bounce off objects, that was her mentor for several hours after consuming the beverage. The crash was sudden and left him cursing himself.

"If I ever do that again...hit me over the head and put me out of my misery..." He'd commented to her as he lay face down with a headache from the withdrawal.

She had declined when offered the beverage, she did not want to experience the same. 

Pen Watched with some amusement. The Sage's reaction explained why Crevan would look at her coffee mug like it was a demon she'd conjured up from the darkest depths. She knew Avallac'h wouldn't touch the stuff again, neither would Crevan. She would have to apologize for teasing him about fearing her coffee too, now knowing why.

"...I had mushroom trips more pleasant." He told her when she plunked the headache tea in front of him. "And those always gave me nightmares..."

She raised an eyebrow, he looked down into his tea. He was not proud of those years and his arrogance in thinking he was untouchable.

"One does not refuse their king...a night at the Bloody Goblet is tame in comparison to the revels the inner circle of Aen Elle court had when Aubron ruled...and promised to marry his daughter...I was part of it."

She wondered how he could be so calm talking of this, of something that seemed so devastating.

"I stopped such things when I began to train Ciri, and forbid her the same. It was the sickness you saw upon me, controlled but not completely gone as of then." He looked at her. "Do I miss it...the politically correct answer would be no, the honest one..."

"I did not mean to bring up a painful subject..."

"...You found amusement in a past adventure, it was I who did so." He drank down the tea and made a sour face. "...Hoof scrapings..."

She smiled softly as he rose, He kissed her temple. She had not expected the gesture.

"...I think knowing as I do now, it would have been worse..."

He left, leaving her standing there in a bit of awe. 

Lunch found Pen looking through an alchemy text, one that had been found in the room of a student. It was the formula for black powder. The student had also been found with other substances, ones that had gotten them expelled and the content of their room confiscated.

"...It's from the restricted archive...and I thought all copies of it were burned." Regis said when he was brought the text.

"Lochain was never one to let the truth go unrecorded, hidden perhaps but not unrecorded..." Pen said. "only you and the other Alchemists have access to this text, the powder itself...exploding things to demonstrate the dangers..."

"Or to simply blow things up...it amazes me how stupid people can be around something so volatile..."

"Humans can be stupid..." She said. "The other substances, those were in the archive too?"

"One...and the elements you would need do not exist here and now..." he said, "The equivalent would be easier to get...and produce."

"This is not making sense..." She said. "First the bomb, then the theft of bottles of grain spirit and black powder. But why make this...it is no more potent than the modern version..."

"I'll do a sweep to see if any other texts are missing." He said.

"IF they wish to build bombs..."

"There are more common texts..." He said. "Go on...you have enough trouble with the Aen Elle..."

She nodded. 

Ciri watched Pen move, absolutely deviating the practice dummy. Tam shook his head. Gideon frowned, Their mother was having a bad day.

"...I'd take her to the Orb, but I don't think we have enough trade chits between us to cover the damages..." Tam said.

"...This is bad?" Ciri asked.

"She hasn't pulled out steel so that is a thing..." Gideon said. "And we have a delegation that is asking for the disbanding of the Court..."

"I"m surprised she hasn't thrown a wench at them..."

"Wouldn't work...they have their own Thots..."

Ciri was surprised by the way they were talking. This seemed rather disrespectful.

"Forgive us lady Ciri..." Tam said. "Our Atara rarely gets this agitated,..."

The practice dummy's head landed at their feet.

"Students won't be happy, "Fred" will be up for repairs..."

The arms and legs followed, and the torso exploded in sawdust and stuffing.

"Fred?"

"The name of the practice dummy, Atara named him after a very infuriating student of some years back..." Tam knelt down, lifting up the head. "Yep...its the delegation, he has pointed ears..."

Pen walked passed them, shoved the sticks in Tam's hands, making him drop the head to take them as she stomped off.

"...Told you," Gideon said. "Pay up..."

"You spend too much time with Atar..."

"All the better to get the juicy stuff..."

Tam held the sticks in one hand, reaching into a pouch at his hip, pulled three trade chits and handed them to his little brother.


	15. Chapter 15

A bit of the beginning of CiriXAvallac'h...

* * *

Crevan frowned as he watched Pen Stomp passed him toward her office, not her study as usual. He had seen that stomp before, a thousand times. First with Lara, then Ciri and then with his own daughter.

"They do not change, those of the Elder blood...fire and stubbornness." He said quietly. "Naught can be done until their heads cool..."

"I would agree with you, master sage..." Said the young Sidhe standing beside him. "...Lady thorn has both in equal measure..."

He took in a breath, wondering what Ciri would have said on her. No doubt liked her, it was hard to remember sometimes. 

Avallac'h sat trying to clear his mind, the temptation to ask the healers where he could...no there was the death in that direction. He could not leave the elder blood unprotected. He could not leave Ciri unprotected. He could not do that if he was very much out of his head on the white death. He still shook when the near maddening need came, One snort; one rub on his gums and he would let go.

"No..." He hissed. "I will not go down that path..."

Steps distracted him from his attempts. It was Pen with a bowl of soup.

"You did not come to lunch..." She said. "You must eat to finish healing..."

"I have no appetite..."

She set the bowl on the table.

"...I have to apologize for the last few days." She said. "We have been keeping Ciri busy...I think the court intrigues her..."

"As she has said, it is good to see her happy..." He said, "How long until they come, this peace cannot hold..."

"For some time yet...and not without a price." She said. "There are other problems that may shatter our peace..."

He looked into her eyes, those were Ciri's eyes, Lara's eyes. He knew. The elder blood lived on still.

"...You are the last?"

"No..." Pen said. "Not the last...only a bridge."

He remembered the two little children, Lara's many generations removed Great-grandchildren. Her blood and he hoped...one day through Ciri, his.

"There will come a day..." She said softly. "a secret will be whispered to you..."

He saw something in her eyes shift, darken as if the knowledge she held was a burden.

"Weigh with care your choice..."

She closed her eyes for a moment and they were bright again.

"I must go...eat it will help you focus a bit better..."

She was gone before he could ask what kind of Soup she had brought.

Ciri returned to sit with Avallac'h bringing a tray with dinner upon it. He knew they needed to go, the red Riders would not come here he knew but what had spawned them was knocking on the doorstep to a place that many had hoped would be.

"Those that follow the swallow..." He repeated part of the prophecy.

"What are you thinking of..."

"Words, Lady thorn's and ancient ones..."

They had come to a comfortable rapport, well enough to know what the end goal required.

"He won't be happy..."

They spoke of the end, the place where the frost would cover the worlds. He had brought her there, shown her. She had returned to protect Geralt and freed him from the Riders.

"No, you're Witcher will not be...Nor will I, but I will not stop you."

She looked at him, he had lied, cajoled, deceived...protected her, healed her, taught her. What had changed in him, what it because of her blood as he claimed? Or because he remembered Lara.

"I'm afraid..." She said, admitting it to herself.

He stood and wrapped his arms around her, held her. She only half caught what he whispered in Elder Speech into her ashen hair. No, they were not lovers, but his embrace offered comfort.

"...I will teach you to overcome it.." He said as a promise.

She leaned into the embrace, laying her head on his shoulder.


	16. Chapter 16

Crevan stood on the balcony of his suite, remembering that first embrace. It was the first time he'd said he'd...loved her. He was thankful she did not understand fully, had not really heard what he said. He looked down to see Rhiannon with her latest lover, a female this time.  
"The girl's attention wanders more than the water flows." He said softly. "...One day you are going to have to choose, and I hope you choose well..."  
He went back inside, closing the doors. He had a guest to help welcome. 

The knock on the door was subtle, one Pen expected. She gestured to a chair, the cloaked figure sat and pushed back his hood. Ge'les frowned.

"...Why did you call me here, in secret...in the dead of night."

"To bargain..." She said. "You are a good Viceroy, you've been since Eriden..."

"Get to the point..."

"Let my court stand, we've caused no harm and none of mine were involved in the bombing..."

"I do not see what that has to do with the dispanding of this farce."

Pen leaned forward "I will say this in elder speech so you understand fully." She set the packet on the desk. "I know well who gave Aubron the Fisteck for the first time...who mixed the potion for the King..."

Crevan moved from the shadows, he'd been listening. His hands were steady on the crossbow. He was owed this.

"Crevan." Ge'les hissed. "You bastard..."

"My Court sage has nothing to do with my finding out..." She said. "...and everything to do with your supposed "Richousness". I cannot end you without the destruction of my court, but I can end the Lie you told."

"What lie...I've told no lie."

"Lara Dorn's son..." She said. "When I told Crevan he told me to let the lie stand...I wonder what the court would do, finding their hate based on a lie." She turned to Crevan. "...I will let you settle this...and do clean up after..."

She walked out, she was halfway down the corridor when she heard the scream. 

Nuada was waiting for her in her chamber, holding out the strongest drink the estate produced. She took it and drank, she didn't want to be sober for the fall out.

"A bold move...Luring him to his reckoning." Nuada said.

"I didn't just do it because it needed to be done..." She said. "It was for Lara...The papers with proof are being delivered to the young monarch as we speak...copies of course."

"You've become ruthless, I think Lochain would have been proud," Nuada said. "I am, it is a move worthy of my queen."

"I've been taking lessons, Sara as the Goblin queen is scary..." She said. "Not anywhere near Regis when he's pissed but scary..."

"You will have to fight, the Aen Elle will not take kindly to their viceroy showing up with holes..."

"I know." She said. "thus the evidence...you know I would not act without it."

"No, you would not."

"IF my court must fall, it will fall fighting..." She said.

"Then my love, my kingdom will stand with you..." He said. "...Now let's get some sleep, we have a war to plan for the morning."

She finished the drink, smiling at him as he scooped her up. 

Neither Ciri or Avallac'h expected to be woken before dawn, given their clothes clean and mended along with Ciri's sword and his staff. Something was coming, something they could not be present for. The Hunt had found them, or in later years scribes would believe.

"...War is coming," was all Pen said. "One I, unfortunately, had to start, and hope to end...quickly."  
"The other things you mentioned..."

"Yes, my court was threatened, and I defended...now war comes."

Pen held out Something to Ciri, wrapped in the plaid of her court.

"...A gift, one I hope to see again..."

In the plaid was a brooch, The same tree Pen's brooch had, but this had a swallow in its branches. It essentially said that Ciri was of her house, a truth that she hoped would break the lie as well.  
"...You will wear it on your wedding day." Pen whispered to her. "A remembrance of this place and the peace you had..."

Ciri embraced her, "Va fail..."

"Va Fail..."

The portal opened and in a blink, they were gone. Pen closed her eyes, so much needed to be done.

"Ancesstress..." Pen said.

Crevan came from behind a pillar, the temptation to see Ciri one last time proving too much. He had followed Pen to this place. She expected it, with how deeply Sidhe loved.

"She did...wear that brooch on her wedding day." He said and laid the brooch in her hand. "...It passed to my daughter, she was born in Tir na Lir...It came back into my possession when she died." He looked at her. "...Ge'les will not speak against us, but the war will still come."

"I suspected as much, it was a bold move. Even though you told..."

"...I was a fool. I would have used my own child...Lara did right by fleeing. I will have to apologize to the Unicorns...if they ever come back."

"No, I don't think they will..." She said. "...We have wronged them too much." She sighed. "I still have no clue how the archive got the journal...its not in any of the hands I have studied of that time. Including yours...Dandilion's, and Yennife's. I even wormed my way into the archives at Tir Na Lir..."

"I wondered where a set of my clothes had gone..." He said, amusement in his voice.  
She looked at the portal, sighed, the war was coming...


	17. Chapter 17

Pen stood in the Graveyard, roses in her hand. Lochain's headstone still glowed gleaming among the dull stones of the older graves. The small stone next to his, her miscarried child. She laid the roses and whispered her blessings.

"...You did not have to come with me, Crevan." She said. "I am head of the Guild and can look after myself.

The Sage smiled, he had been following in her shadow since Ciri had left.

"You are also the High Queen, you shouldn't go anywhere alone."

"I need no reminder of that, between you, my thorns and the small flock..."

"His Majesty would have my balls if you went alone..."

Pen considered a smart retort, but the sage did have a point. It was dangerous to travel, Singer or not. This was not far from Court, but enough to make her vulnerable. She knew Either Aethen or Rhiannon were in the woods watching. Cullen staying behind with the twins.

"...Ge'les is bringing the young King to see the High court...he still is salty about our little talk, but will be respectful..."

"You didn't have to threaten him with Regis you know...though he did find it amusing he could make an Aen Elle piss themselves just by being in the normal form..."

"Would that I have shot him...a lesser solution but much messier..."

"No. We need to get back." She Dusted off her knees. "I do not relish tonight..."

"Nor do I..."

They headed back toward the horses, hoping the road was secured again. 

In the shrine, the portal opened and Avallac'h stumbled through, fool to trust they would escape the beast unscathed. He stumbled against a pillar, sliding down leaving a streak of red. Ciri was close behind, the sound of the portal closing.

"...The court of thorns..." He managed when they were swarmed by the priests.

"Go get lady Thorn..." The Priest said and began inspecting the large gaping wound on his side.

Ciri was on the other, murmuring something to keep him conscious.

Ciri frowned when she saw Pen, she had not expected to avail herself to her hospitality again. The healer tending her wounds looked up at Pen and finished quickly. This Ciri was older, a Witcher now. It meant she had sought out Avallac'h, and most likely had grown close.

"...A Stigga..." She said. "Fool sage got between us..."

She had said the same of Nuada getting between her and an attacker. Though for her it had been a mid-blade strike for her.

"...I take it somewhere Elves are not well-liked as well..."

"As well as Witchers are..." She said. "...He won't have to puke up his guts again will he?"

"No, you might..." She said, "Do not worry, it does not look too bad."

Ciri slumped, she was tired, off.

"Get into bed, Rest..." Pen watched where Ciri's eyes went, "Lay close, both of you will rest..."

She watched Ciri limp to the bed, where Avallac'h lay in Reverie. She had followed wiser heads this time, ordered him into the suspended state to heal. 

Pen encountered Crevan in the hall, looking as if he was the one with the gaping wound rather than the scar. He straightened a bit to offer her a smile, but it didn't reach beyond his lips.

"...I know I should not be here. But you cannot be alone."

"You could have asked Aethen, or even Rhi to come instead..."

"Yes, but it has to be me..."

She steered him out of the healing halls, Two of the same person in close proximity had disastrous results. He seemed to breathe easier when they were in the main corridor.

"That was stupid..." He said. "But I am restless..."

"Should I throw Rhi at you?"

He laughed softly, he had yet to have an intimate encounter with the young thorn but gossip said she was skilled with more than her sword.

"...Tempting, but no." He said. "Beautiful as she is, she bites, and I do not relish another bite to my ear..."

Pen swallowed another smart remark, knowing that Sages were not Celibate by any stretch, neither were her thorns.

"...and She would not put up with my grumpy nature." He said. "I do thank you for trying, like a good queen..."

She took in a heavy breath.

"...Would you have said to the same to Ciri if she chose to be empress..."

"If that was the path she chose...I would have stood at her side. Though I doubt as to the lover and husband I became..."

"...other lifetimes..." Pen said.

"Too many..." He said. "Have you chosen what you will sing tonight for the banquet..."

"I See Fire..." She said. "It is from a movie...I think I have the disks...I should show it."

"It sounds like deceleration of doom..."

"It is one inspired by a story arc by Tolkien..."

"The storyteller...I have yet to ask Regis to borrow that book."

"You might have to wait in line..."

He smiled. "...Will you be reading to the twins in my presence again?"

She smiled, "Maybe...after the banquet..."

He straightened up fully, holding out his arm. There was much to prepare for...


	18. Chapter 18

Gideon frowned at his mother's choice of song. He agreed with the Sage it sounded like a declaration of doom. He knew his mother did not mean the choice that way. He plucked out the tune, humming it as he did so. The sheet music was set before him, the dim light of a candle shining off the reflector behind it.

"...I am glad the second song is mine..." HE said, changing to strum the tune.

He tested out his voice, strumming the tune with it. He listened, as he had been trained. IT took him one time to understand the choice. There was doom, yes, but a mutual one if the war started. 

Pen was in the healing halls, making sure Ciri and Avallac'h had what they needed for the night. Ciri was sitting by the hearth, drawing with the poker in the ashes. Avallac'h still slept.

"...I could not sleep further..." She said when Pen set the tray down.

"Nor should you try...you are not Elven." Pen said. "I brought a bit of food, and something to occupy you..." She handed her a book. "Read to him...I think he'll like this one, so will you."

Ciri took the book from her, Looking at the cover, much read and it appeared loved.

"One of your own books..."

"That obvious..." She said. "Yes, I read it to my sons when they were young, and I've read it to the Twins...Written by a storyteller for his children..."

Ciri opened the book, the words were in Cintran.

"A translation spell, so you can read it better..."

"Thank you...Will you be back later tonight?"

"Perhaps, but we have guests that will take much of my attention and Patience...and having neither is not good in a healing room."

Pen bowed and slowly closed the door after her. 

Pen did not want to think about what she'd sensed from Ciri until she was in her study. She thought of summoning Crevan and giving him an ear full about the editing he'd done about his past. She thought better of it when she realized Ciri did not know yet.

"...No, I never asked where or when Ciri's son was born..." She said. "He only offered where Their daughter was born."

She was going to strangle him at some point out of frustration. She reached down to open a drawer and pull out a dust-covered bottle. It had been in there for a long time. She set the glass down after she'd cleaned it.

"...This is the last of it..."

"Wine from a vineyard that has long since vanished, you were holding out..." Nuada said, entering.

"This came From Tuossan, Lochain put it in the cellars and kept this bottle here...most of it went to banquet tables and private deals. This is the last bottle..."

"What are we celebrating?"

"Not celebrating..." She said. "A gift...one I should smash over the Sage's head..."

"Ah, that explains why Aethen dragged him off when he tried to get in to see you."

"...part of it, both are blind..."

"How long after I left did you know that you were going to have Tam, hum." He said. "I remember wink hauling me back around Imbolc...I left you at Samhain..."

"...true, but for her it's dangerous...She is still a Witcher...though she has none of their resistances...If she did..."

"Let's not think of that, only now you are going to tell a clueless Witcher and Sage that they're going to be parents..."

She laughed, she could easily envision Crevan's face going from anger, to disbelief to joy in the space of a few moments as his composer broke.

"I'd love to see Geralt's face when she comes with her baby..." She said. "And Yennifer's...he said she was nothing to mess with when it came to Ciri..." She set the bottle down. "I will have the midwife confirm the findings, I do not wish to have false hope..."

"...You still going to smash that bottle over his head?"

"Maybe, but it will be empty at the time." She said.

She rose, it was time to be prodded and polished again.


	19. Chapter 19

The banquet Was going as well as could be expected, it reminded Pen of the hostel camp that had incited the second Human-Sidhe war. The Aen Elle thinking they were owed the right to Rule, the Aen Sidhe not wanting to lose their lands, and the humans hating the Unseen. One spark and the world would burn. The Singers accompanying the Sidhe and human courts looked like they wanted to let it, just so they did not have to listen to the Aen Ell insult them.

By the time Pen stepped out to preform the hostility had risen. Her first notes, rising above the voices an silencing them. She put all the emotion behind the lyrics as she sang. Crevan remembered this power, Ciri had used it at Ker Morhen to fight off the Hunt, but it had been a scream born of grief. This was the same power but under the control of one who knew it to be a weapon to destroy worlds or a beacon to rebuild them.

The song ended in silence, then applause. Pen took her bows and made her excuses to depart the hall. Crevan and her thorns followed. She was stripping off her finery as she went, she had said her piece. Aethen picked each item up carefully, making sure it wouldn't wrinkle too badly. They found her stripped down to inner garments, leaning against a wall, Keening.

Aethen wrapped his cloak and held her, murmuring to her. Crevan stood there, knowing the power had this price. Aethen whispered something and she slumped against him.

"...She should not have done that..." Aethen said, scooping her up. "...but she had her reason no doubt."

At the Sage's confused look Cullen explained.

"Imagine using a shield spell to hold back a Tsunami..." Cullen said. "She strained her voice and her will...she won't be talking for a week or longer."

"She has done this before?"

"A very long time ago, to take down...his Majesty's first wife. You'll have to ask his Majesty or Lord Jareth...they were present when she did."

Crevan decided he would do just that after the banquet ended.

Nuada led the Sage from the room where Pen had been placed after being found. He did not wish to disturb her, nor bring up a painful subject.

"...She saved my life by breaking hers." Nuada said, pouring some Dragon's kiss into a shot glass. "...My former queen was as bad as humans when it came to the hate she harbored...she slaughtered the Remembering ones, first. It took Pen's voice and her blades to end it." He took the shot and winced. "I made a promise she would never have to break her voice for me again..."

"The remembering ones?" Crevan asked. "Like the Aen Serveherne?"

"No, The Murin...they were the ones who remembered that Sidhe and humans were not so different once. The few that remained settled in the Court of thorns. " He poured another shot. "...We've had ten years of peace..."

"Then The Aen Elle came..." Crevan said softly. "...I am sorry."

Nuada poured a second shot.

The sage looked toward the rooms down the hall, it was there...three days from now and a thousand years past he'd found he'd be a father. He downed it, ignoring the burn.

"What did you feel, then?"

"Joy, fear...Self hate that it was the one thing I did not...could not protect her from."

Crevan took in a breath, "I'd like to keep watch..."

"That is usually Aethen's job..."

Crevan had wanted to ask, but the topic seemed sensitive.

"The night elf..."

"Was the first of her court, long before I granted her the freehold." He said. "There were things I struggled with at that choice..."

He looked to where Night elf was talking to Cullen, they were in an animated conversation.

"He cares for her more than I do sometimes." Nuada downed his second shot. "Tomorrow we meet for war..."

Crevan nodded, He had things to prepare too. 

Ciri did not feel well, it was not the Strigga bite. She looked to where Avallac'h was propped up reading the book. IF he wasn't injured...she smiled remembering the ruby suite and sunlight shining in his hair while he slept. The smell of food sent her to the bucket as it came in. The healers became concerned about the third meal they had brought.

Ciri sat in stunned silence, the midwife had taken one look at her and smiled. The examination had confirmed that smile. She didn't know how to tell Avallac'h, how was she to tell him. She put her hand on her lower belly, the midwife had said at least a month and a half along. She had written off the ill-feeling as their little romp in the halls of Ker Morhen. She looked over at him, he would pause in his reading to look back.

"What is troubling you...my swallow." His voice held concern "You look unwell, you went with the healers earier...is anything wrong."

"N-no...its good news." She said and came to sit on the bed beside him. "I...just don't know..."

He touched her and his face went from concern to awe, then to a frown.

"We should remain here for a little while..." He said. "It will not be safe to travel..."

She nodded and moved to lay beside him worried at his reactions.


	20. Chapter 20

Note: Sanctuary is asked, and a war council gathers. A little on the allies, other than the Goblin kingdom and the Gharasham, the others are kingdoms that became established after the treaties. The seven stars are like the thorn court, the black march would equate to the Dunedin, and the kingdom of St. Neven equates to the Rohan. The Houses of Gull and swallow are the descendants of Elder blood...thus the line about kinswoman calling for aid.

* * *

Avallac'h had asked to speak to the healers, fearing the truth of his own senses. With their confirmation, he asked to see Lady Thorn. Pen arrived still speaking in a croak from the injury done her voice.

"...I ask sanctuary." He said. "For Ciri...and my...child."

Pen's fingers moved, Aethen translated. The guilds cant would save her voice.

"You will not stay with them."

"I have no right..."

"Do you wish to be bonded to her..."

He was surprised by the implied offer. To handfast he and Ciri.

"There are things I must do...this child is hers..."

Pen shook her head, The sage was fleeing like a frightened...Fox.

"So you believe..."

"Please Lady Thorn, I am ill-equipped to raise a child..."

~Says a man who eventually raised three~ Pen thought.

"I will grant it, only if you remain.."

She rose, smiled and made a few last gestures.

"Simply tell the healers your choice..."

Aethen looked at Avallac'h before following her out. 

Crevan and Nuada looked over a map of the freehold and surroundings. The sage was pointing out the portals to seal. It was not Ker Morhan, but it did not have as strong defenses. Jareth walked in, setting his armies on the perimeter.

"...The goblin kingdom stands with the thorn..." Jareth said.

Their first declaration aid. 

**A few moments later...**

Another came and set his pieces on the board, looking at Nuada. He set his hands on the table.

"The seven stars stand with the thorn..."

Another came and did the same.

"...The black march stands with the thorn..."

A human came in, set his pieces.

"...The kingdom of St. Nevan stands with the thorn."

Regis came in, leading an elder dressed in a long cloak. The pieces flew to the board.

"The Gharasham stand with the thorn..." Regis translated.

Then came in an Aen Elle, much to their surprise, he set his pieces on the board.

"The Houses of the Gull and swallow stand with the thorn..." He looked at Crevan. "My kinswoman called for aid, and I have answered..."

"Do you know what you are doing, going against your own?" Nuada asked.

"Yes, we have never been fully of the Aen Elle, not my sire nor I..."

Nuada looked to Crevan, who nodded.

"Your aid is accepted..."

The young Aen Elle took his place at the table.

"Where is Lady Thorn..?" The young man asked.

"Recovering..." Was Nuada's curt reply. "She will not be attending..."

Crevan looked at each, he knew they could trust Jareth. The others would have to prove their loyalty. 

Avallac'h stroked through Ciri's hair, they were lying side by side. Her head lay on his shoulder her hand stroking his chest. They were still in a bit of shock, the revelation of a child.

"...A child." She said.

He made a noise of contentment, but his mind was on telling Geralt and Yennifer they were going to be grandparents. That was going to be an adventure since he knew the elder Witcher did not look too favorably upon him. Then there was Yennifer.

"I asked Lady Thorn to offer you sanctuary..." He said.

"...I can..."

"I know, my swallow..." He said. "but you have another to care for now..."

"And you do not matter, you had a part in this too..."

"Would Your Witcher say so, or Yennifer..."

"Geralt and Yen will melt when we show them the baby..." Ciri said. "...I chose you, Out of all..."

He remembered her saying that when he'd asked her that night in the Ruby Suite. She'd said it again in the light of day, and again at Ker Morhan before the battle.

"...I do not know how to feel about this..." He said, admitting it to himself as much as Ciri. "I-I am not ready..."

"Neither am I..."Ciri said.

He closed his eyes, taking in a breath. Ciri moved to sit astride, he smiled up at her. The conversation would continue later.


	21. Chapter 21

A gift to Crevan and the truth about Pen's Guard Rhiannon...and disruption at a banquet

* * *

Crevan half expected Pen to show up, he knew he'd not been truthful about him and Ciri. They had not been true lovers until after the frost, that part was true. He had skirted around the years prior. He was surprised when she was not angry. She had laid something small in his hand and curled his fingers over it.

He opened his hand to see it was a bit of candy called a "Honey kiss", a small sweet hardened honey. Ciri had given him one that Beltine, then pulled him off toward a place in the wood. He had not expected her to ask, knowing well what had happened to her. The granting of her request...He looked up to See Rhiannon.

"Come..." She took his hand. "I won't bite, much..."

Could he do this again, but the woman before him wasn't asking for his love. She began leading him toward the gardens. 

It was past sunset when He made his way back into the manor and Rhiannon of to some duty elsewhere. A bath and a warm meal were waiting in his chambers as was Pen. He half ignored her while he undressed with his back to her. She had seen all of him, poked about his insides several times, so undressing in front of her did not bother him. He didn't ask why she'd set up that little...distraction.

"...I enjoyed the afternoon." He said, rubbing his shoulder.

"Yes..." Came Pen's voice.

He slid into the tub, the water was warm. He scrubbed the smell of grass and sex from his body. He had enjoyed the distraction, pulled his mind from their guests.

Ciri stood in front of the window, they had been moved to the guest guarters a few hours ago. She shivered, the room was chilled. A shawl was laid over her shoulders. She looked at Avallac'h, he really should have been resting.

"...I will rest when you do." He said. "I do not need much rest..."

She knew he was trying to make her comfortable at his discomfort. She walked him back toward the bed if being in bed meant he'd stay there all the better.

"Then I will rest..."

He smiled at her, pulling her to the soft surface with him. 

Nuada decided to hold a banquet that night for the Thorn's allies. Each of the allies had a delegation of about six or seven. The only exception to this was the Higher vampires, of them there were only three., Regis and two other elder vampires. Pen rose from the table and went to them as the other delegations were ignoring them.

"Lady Thorn..." Regis said.

"Elders..." She said, in their language.

She knew a bit from long years of knowing Regis.

"You do not fear us..." Said one of the elders.

"No, I have known Regis since I was small." She said softly.

She sensed the movement before She saw. She sidestepped, the assailant's hand sliding past her with the blade, she caught the wrist, struck with the heel of her hand to snap the arm. with her knee into the side to drop the assailant to the floor, her blade at their throat. The blade intended for her dropped to the floor with a metallic ring. 

The room went silent as they watched the attempt on the Lady Thorn, it also showed that she had not lost the edge that had demonstrated to the humans the guild's skill. Cullen and Rhiannon reached them a few moments later. The assailant hissed something derogatory in Elder speech at Pen.

"...A thousand devils take you..." She said. "Get this...filth from my hall..."

She sheathed her blade, scowling now as the intruder was taken away by two Ravens.

"That was unexpected," Aethen said. "and we vetted all of the delegations...We have a leak..."

"Plug it, I do not care how..."

Those words, it meant he and the thorns could act in the court's best interest without involving Pen and the main court.

"As the Lady commands..." Aethen said, bowing.

The banquet was broken up shortly thereafter. 

The morning gossip was filled with rumors of the events of the Banquet, Rhiannon listened to them all. Her little trysts were the perfect cover for her to talk to her spies. The sage had been for fun, skilled and sweet. It also allowed her to clear him from being a leak in the court.

"I heard you had some fun..."Aethen said, the code for asking about what she found. "With our court Sage..."

"Smart, sweet...not the one I was looking for..." She said. "Lady thorn asked me to look him over...that tattoo is amazing."

"She asked you to look into Crevan...why?"

"Just so the others do not think she is showing favors...I'd look into Himself If that is what she asked..."

"That is one direction the leak won't come..." He said. "Others?"

"Two are suspicious...I'll keeps investigating." She said. "and get permission to investigate the generals."

"Have a care of the hearts you play with." He said, rising.

"I always do..." she said.

Aethen left with a snort of laughter.


	22. Chapter 22

Preparing for war...

* * *

The war council gathered around their map, Navigation points marked on the map. Crevan was helpful in this, as was the young Aen Elle. There was no Diridum in this world, but there were E.M.P generators, it had been one of the reasons they couldn't find him and Ciri in that far distant future.

"...Those should make the portals unstable..." The St. Neven's general said. "Hard to keep them open..."

"No machine that runs on electricity natural or generated is going to function in its radius, it will be fried so we need to be careful what we equip the troops with." Pen said. "I don't know what it will do to a spell wielder..."

"Make it damn hard to cast..." Said the Aen Elle. "One of the settlements had one, along with the same idea. One of our Aen Saveherne had a near heart attack trying to cast a shield."

"Basically they got their nervous system fried...?"

Crevan frowned, The Trial of the Grasses had damaged his, he could not fathom being in something like a lightning field and having the same happen.

"...More like disrupted." Jareth said. "It wreaks havoc, they were testing it when I arrived."

"We have a few humans sensitive to the fields too...they are underground for their safety."

Crevan pointed out the navigation points closest to the walls and fortified positions.

"How small are the generators?"

"Portable, but not backpack..." Pen said.

"We will put them at the most vulnerable points..." Nuada said. "...manned by humans, they have more resistance to the effects."

Pen agreed, "and non-computerized transports..."

All at the table nodded in agreement. 

Ciri watched Pen come in, it had been a few days since she'd been there. The armor Pen was wearing, tight chain over hardened leather, said a lot about the changes of the last three days.

"...You are safe here," Pen said assured them. "We have emergency measures to keep you that way."

She set the tray down, Rolling her shoulders.

"This armor is not the most comfortable..."

Ciri watched her stretch, there was more armoring under the outer.

"...Magick only shields so much." Avallac'h said from by the hearth. "One sacrifices power for protection..."

"...As one who knows." Pen said. "I would wear less, but alas my husband will accept me wearing no fewer than two layers of armor." She smiled at Ciri's expression. "There are pieces that can be hidden...though I doubt what I wear would stand up to monsters...other than the two-legged kind."

A knock on the frame, Aethen stood there.

"Forgive me my lady, but there is news..."

"Speak..."

"There was a skirmish within four miles of our outermost Perminiter...looked Like raiders."

"Casualties?"

"Enough..." Aethen said. "His Majesty has requested you, the youngest and our guests to be evacuated to the Royal seat if the defenses are breached."

"He knows I won't run..."

"Yes My lady, but it was also the request of your husband..."

She rolled her eyes, Nuada knew if she would not aqueous as his subject, she would as his wife.

"Take the children there...if the defenses fall I and our guests will follow."

"Take Ciri as well..." Avallac'h said. "I will remain to aid with the defense of the Court..." Before she could protest he silenced her. "...I do not wish anything to happen to our child, the farther you are...I will follow, I promise Zireael..."

"...We have the escort ready," Aethen said. "His majesty knew you would order the children to the High Court...Lady Ciri, it will be alright...my lady has some interesting tricks up her sleeves..."

Ciri followed Aethen out, looking back at Pen and Avallac'h hoping she'd see them both again. 

Crevan adjusted his clothing, much like his old but these were of the court of thorns. The black and red standing out. As long as he kept his hood up and did not speak Ciri would not recognize him. He remembered the fight that was to come, the smell of burnt black powder and the riders clad in the red ring mail of the Hunt. The screams of horse and the dying. It had taken years to drive those images from his mind enough not to have nightmares.

"Ready, Sage..." Aethen said, "We have everyone who wanted to evacuate..."

He took in a breath. "Yes, let us get them to safety..."

He pulled up his hood and fell into step with the others of the escort.


	23. Chapter 23

Battle...

* * *

Avallac'h looked over the bits of armor Pen had insisted on. The body plate would keep his wounds from being reopened or new ones added. His thoughts were on Ciri, promising himself they would handfast as soon as the battle was over. He would not leave his child a bastard. He looked at the two swords Pen had provided, these were Witcher blades. He'd accepted them though he was unworthy of the title. The brooch at his shoulder, spelled like Pen's, bore the apple tree. He had not asked where she had gotten it, nor where she'd gotten the armor. 

He fastened the last, picking up the blades. He heard singing, soft notes to sink into the mind and body. He knew that tune, a lullaby for the dying. The healers mercifully ending the lives of those too wounded to fight on or be saved. He had hoped never to have heard it again.

"...They sing it from the first death to the last..." Came Tam's voice. "One of their own was the first...tried to help remove a pike from some poor soul's guts...got speared by another."

He saw the young male take a hitching breath. He must have known the dead healer.

"Your brother is among them?"

"No, he is with the High Court at the Royal seat...for now at least," Tam said. "My Atar knows I won't leave until Atara does..."

"And your mother is most stubborn."

Tam had to Smile, Crevan had said the same many times since meeting her.

"She knows the price of this, and even the coolest and oldest heads of the Guild dread the battle."

"...The blood shall flow, they will give no mercy..."

"Neither shall we..." Tam said, putting on his Raven helm, now the king of Ravens. "We fly..."

Pen was there, ready before them. 

The first clash of sword, the pike was quickly shattered by explosions, bombs buried on the earth. Battle cries, from For The stars to No mercy, rang all too soon to be drowned by blood and deafened by explosions. Then the humans came. Sidhe and Aen Elle were soon forced to fight back to back against the human hoard. They had counted on the division. Flashes of bloody smoke flew across the field, the vampires taking out as many as they could. 

The battle raged, Humans, Sidhe, and Aen Elle died. In the aftermath, the ground could soak up no more blood so it stood in puddles beneath bodies. The merciful moved among the bodies, slitting the throats of those too wounded to be helped. To the healers of both the Seven stars and of the guild, it did not matter what the being was as the combatants were so mixed and covered in blood, mud, and gore.

Pen sat on a camp stool, covered in as much gore as her healers. She had to get air, the tent smelled too much of spilled blood. She wanted a hot bath, some of Regis' mandrake hooch and never to see another drop of blood again. She had seen the aftermath of previous battles, but this.. was extermination, not war. She had barred Regis from the healing tents, it had taken hours for him and the other vampires to quell their blood lust. The pryers were being constructed for the Sidhe and Aen Elle. A bottle dangling in blood-stained fingers appeared before her.

"Drink...better be plastered..."

It was Avallac'h, none too steady on his feet. Cullen stood behind him, so he didn't fall over. She took the bottle, downing it. 

Morning came with a massive hangover and waking up near-naked with three men. Pen extracted herself from the three. Nuada stood by the table with a mug of the nastiest concoction to relieve a headache in existence.

"...I expected not to find you alone, but three..." He teased. "though I suspect they passed out before you..."

"Umm." She said. "...I don't even know how we got back here...let alone why there are three..."

"The young Aen Elle king was at court this morning..." He said, rummaging into her trunk to find clothing she could put on quickly. "He looked like he'd spent the night puking...even his viceroy looked a bit green." He tossed her Trousers and a tunic. "They have agreed to meet with you to hammer out a treaty, a lesson about the humans learned."

She made faces and cursed as she drank down the mug. Headache dulled, she got dressed before rousing her drinking partners from her bed. 

The trip to the Royal seat was accompanied by much groaning, near the whole camp had decided to wipe out the memory of the battle with a few gallons of various concoctions. The wounded were looked after, they had healers who had the good sense to stay sober. She looked at her companions, Cullen tried to hide under his hood, as did Avallac'h. She would immediately get the sage to Ciri, letting her give him the lecture. She had gotten one from one of the said sober healers as they mixed up another dose of the headache tea. 

Pen didn't have to bother trying to find Ciri, she was among those waiting for the Court of thorns to arrive. The ashen haired Witcheress rushed out of the small group to where Avallac'h swayed on his feet, slightly motion sick from being on the horse while his head still spun. A second later they were gone, no doubt tucked into a room.

"Is that safe for her?"

"I'll ave the midwife look at her..." Pen said. "but first I need a bath...I smell like a still..."

"That can be arranged, they deserve to wait for the trouble they have caused.."

Pen could not help but agree.


	24. Chapter 24

The beginnings of Peace, an aid, and admission of slightly bending the truth

* * *

Bathed and somewhat Sober, Pen Met with the Aen Elle. The annoyance she had due to her headache must have worked because for the first time they were polite. Crevan sat at one side of her, Nuada sat on the other. The young king looked very green, she had seen that look before on many after their first battle. Ge'els also looked a bit green, more seasoned than his young king but having seen troops shot off their feet must have been the same kind of shock.

"...Lady Thorn." Ge'els said.

"Viceroy..." Pen said. "Let us cut to the chase shall we...for this battle has cost us all dear."

"Yes, a dear lesson." Ge'els agreed.

"...SO, I"m going to ask, what will you do to aid in the repair of the peace you shattered. MY singers and I can only to so much to replace the pieces...

"You wish to humble us..."

"Humility has its uses." Pen said. "IT was a hard lesson the High King, my sage and now you have learned.."

She said a quiet prayer when, Rhiannon, dressed as a serving wench set a mug of her favorite non-alcoholic beverage at her elbow. She watched her distribute drinks to the rest of the table. The young king's complexion darkened a bit when Rhi leaned over for him to get a look down her breasts. Crevan's lips twitched, amusement or one of his ticks. She decided on amusement, knowing now who had suggested her spymaster disguise herself as a servant. This was going to be an interesting situation. 

Ciri lay beside Avallac'h, watching him sleep. He had downed the tea the healers had brought him and immediately passed out. He'd woken only once to vomit into the basin the healers had brought for her morning sickness. She now watched him twitch as if he was going through the trial of grasses again, but his eyes were closed. She wondered what he had seen...they had fought in battles, fought monsters but she had never seen him be sick like that.

"...You do not wish to know my Swallow..." He had said, upon waking when a meal was brought. "It was as if the hells had opened and swallowed us all..."

She did not become concerned until he woke in a cold sweat stiffening a sound of fear. He told her it was ok and go back to sleep. 

Avallac'h couldn't sleep after that, the memories of the recent battle mixing with those from when he had been a Red Rider. He'd long ago made peace with that part of his life, but it had returned with a vengeance along with the images of bodies vaporizing from the explosions beneath their feet, limbs shot from bodies. He did not wish to burden Ciri with those images. He rubbed his arms, gods he wanted a fix. He couldn't go back and knew it. 

The knock on the door was soft as if the one outside knew that there was another asleep in the room. He opened it to see Regis, looking a bit worse for wear.

"Come, let's take a walk..." The higher vampire suggested. "Clear our heads..."

Yes, that did sound like a good idea. He dressed and told Ciri where he was going. 

Regis brought him out into the court gardens, where several males were around a table lit by torchlight. Between two very patient men sat a boy of about fifteen summers who looked like he would run given the chance. When he rose, one would go with him a short distance behind for safety.

"We take care of our own..." Regis said.

A healer rose from the table, approaching them. A slow looking over, and a head shake.

"You want a fix, don't you..." The healer was quite knowing. "I see it on your face, I've even worn that expression...come a longer walk is in order..."

Regis snorted.

"You had fifty years to get your head on straight, literally..." The healer said. "Not all of us do..."

He followed the healer, hoping the need to be high out of his mind would be suppressed for a little while longer. 

Crevan stood on his balcony looking out into the garden, on a regular night he would have joined the men around that table. He could not without causing trouble for his past self. He was thankful for Regis and that healer. Both had been blunt with him on the subject. He was thankful he and Regis still spoke on nights like this. He had been reading, distracting his brain from the memory. 

He had been truthful about the encounter at Dandilion's tavern. He'd been drunk off his ass, but also had been fistecked to the gills. He'd relapsed in the time between the banishment of the frost and meeting her again. It had been hard, that year and a half...Traveling, avoiding towns when Withdrawals turned him into a twitching mess. It had been that long winter in the blue mountains among the Aen Sidhe and fighting Necrophaes that had brought him to sobriety. Then that spring...the letter that said: "Find me". He had done just that. 

The vineyard had been another step. He'd been yanked from his bed at the crack of dawn, told to put on some sturdy clothes. The hours of working out and training, the long day of tending vines. He had no thought for anything else when the need hit he would put on his boots and go raiding with Eskel or run among the rows of vines until he couldn't anymore. Gods he missed them, and the peace he'd found there. He went back to his book, hoping that the memories would not conjure up their demons anymore.


	25. Chapter 25

Ciri was surprised when she woke in the morning, Avallac'h was standing at the hearth talking to Regis. The two must have been out for several hours, but she had not heard them come in. She watched her elf turn and give her a tired smile, before bringing her a mug of tea. She was worried he had trouble.

"Just went for a walk...like before." He told her. "I needed to clear my head..."

She accepted this, he had done this a thousand times at Toussaint, wake in the middle of the night to go off for a run or a raid. He'd return in the morning, pump cold water over his head and continue on as if nothing had happened.

"I should be going," Regis said. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Yes, we'll be here for a while...and thank you."

Regis left, leaving them to have breakfast. 

Crevan sat in the library, having laid out books on human statecraft and diplomacy for the young king. As per the agreement they had reached. The Aen Elle would pay reparations to the Court of Thorns and in turn, it would teach the Aen Elle king on the politics of the current world. He looked up at Regis as he returned.

"...You're still a good man..." Regis said as he paused at the table.

He had needed that, praise from an old friend. The Higher vampire gave a toothy smile and disappeared into the stacks. He would talk to Regis at lunch, for now, he had a young student he needed to teach. 

Pen moved through her Kata, slow and deliberate. The battle, its all too quick settlement worried her. It was the screams of men waking from nightmares, some too proud to ask for help or speak with the healers. It was her own Nightmares and those of her daughter. She stopped and shook her head.

"...I'd say we should get plastered," Aethen said. "But that would do neither of us good..."

"No, it wouldn't..."

"Too bad Fred is still in for repairs..."

She laughed, yes the much-abused practice dummy.

"...Wasn't the Aen Elle king supposed to be here today?"

"Yes, he's in the library, Crevan is teaching him." She said. "We thought it best if there was someone who could speak the dialect to him."

"All the better he understands, and the viceroy?"

"Yes, I have to meet with him to hammer out the details."

"Well, get bathed and presentable...I'll be waiting for you."

She smiled as she headed off to the bath.

Dinner brought Pen to see Ciri and Avallac'h. The sage was reading while Ciri was napping, unusual for her. She remembered what her first pregnancy was like, she had slept for hours it seemed. She brought the same sausage rolls she had enjoyed, a simple meal that did not require more than one hand and could be spiced to the taste. She set the tray down, Avallac'h took one and resumed his reading.

"Do not get grease on the pages..." She said laying a napkin beside him. "Most of these are for Ciri..."

A grunt behind a mouthful, a pause and he set it down.

"Venison..." She said. "and boar..."

"...She will like them..." He said. "if she is hungry, she was not at lunch."

"She might be when she wakes," Pen said. "I will have the midwife brew up some anti-nausea tea, it should allow her to eat a bit more."

"Seeing you fight, I have forgotten you are a mother as well..."

"Yes, It can be easy to forget sometimes." She said.

He paused and set down his book. "I do not feel worthy of this gift, a child to carry the very thing I strove to use..."

"What makes you feel so unworthy..."

"I wanted this, once, with Lara..." He said. "After all, I have done, I'm finally granted it with her near echo...it is good that there was no child between Lara and I."

Pen knew that not to be true, but she could not tell him.

"...I should go...Make sure Ciri eats." She said.

He tilted his head in acknowledgment and returned to his bock.


	26. Chapter 26

Crevan sat in the dim light of the library as Regis moved about blowing out the lamps. The solar lights from the path outside providing enough light to watch the vampire carry out his nightly tasks. He had spent a good portion of the day fielding questions, the young Aen Elle had a bright mind. The old temptation to manipulate and mold the young monarch burned through him. Power was as much an addiction as Fistec, and it had taken him a long time to overcome both.

"...I will see you in the morning..." Crevan said softly as he moved to his quarters.

Regis acknowledged him before continuing his task.

He was surprised to see Ge'els there, he'd not expected his one-time friend and rival wanting anything to do with him after the last little encounter. The other Aen Elle looked as if he had been washed with white paint. After seeing the healing rooms, he'd asked for a shot of the strongest drink they had.

"...Human weapons did...that..."

He steered the other elf into his quarters, he had some dragon's kiss somewhere in the cupboard. They would trade shots until Ge'els looked better. It took four shots before Ge'els found enough color to look like a living elf again.

The sound of small feet outside the door stopped the conversation they were having. The knock was rapid and impatient. Crevan answered to see the two small children. Deir and Nod. He smiled at them.

"What brings you here?"

"Regis said you had the book..."

It took him a few moments to register what book they were talking of. He had been translating the Fairy tales into elder speech and had forgotten to return it. Leave it to Regis to send the children to retrieve their favorite book.

"Indeed I do...wait here..." He said and went into the room, returning with the tome.

The boy grabbed it and bounded off with it with the girl following. He didn't scold them, it was late and no doubt one of their parents had promised a story.

"Who were those urchins..."

"Lady Thorn's children..." He said. "They are usually kept out-of-the-way, or are at the High Court with tutors."

"There are children here?"

"Several, mostly born after the court was formed..."

Ge'els frowned. "...They are allowed to roam?"

"No, our resident librarian send them directly to me. If it was anywhere else in the manse they would have an escort, and I believe they did. Lady thorn does not take chances with her children..."

He glared at Ge'els, daring him to make the comparison, he would not have it. not when it came to those children.

Pen stood near the window, something wasn't right. A shawl dropped over her shoulders, hands as warm as summer. She turned, Aethen stood there.

"You got a sense of it too..." He said.

"Yes, but I cannot pinpoint it." She said. "I do not like the Viceroy..."

"I don't think half the court likes the Viceroy..." He said. "Himself is here tonight, said he'd read the story."

She smiled, "He managed to get away..."

"Yes, and said he wanted to spend some time with you and the children"

She moved to wrap the shawl about her.

"I'll escort you..."

She smiled and took his arm.

Avallac'h trooped through the gardens, another nightmare woke him. He had assured Ciri he just needed air and would not go far. He was heading back, head a bit clearer. He could not wait to see Geralt's face, the old Witcher confused when Ciri placed the child in his arms. Yennifer threatening him with the moat again. He'd thought that an idle threat until he'd splashed down into one in high summer. He'd walked back through the estate covered in muck. It had taken him a week to get the smell out.

He paused outside the door, Ciri was awake waiting for him. He entered and accepted her embrace. He wanted this peace, the warmth he'd waited near a thousand years for. He would speak to lady Thorn in the morning, they would be handfasted by sunset. And when they returned to Toussaint, he would ask for her hand from the Witcher and Sorceress.


	27. Chapter 27

Ciri and Avallac'h are hand fasted, while Crevan remembers...

* * *

Pen smiled when Avallac'h came to see her that morning, knowing what he was going to ask. He was surprised, a place had already been picked out.

"The glass garden, she admired it when last you were here..." Pen said. "And the light there is perfect..."

"...You knew I would come..."

"Yes, I also knew you would not allow your child to be born into the world a bastard either." She said. "...My guard will stand as a witness, and Rhiannon with Ciri, as will I."

"...You do this because we have no family here..."

"I did not say you didn't." Pen said. "it is better that it be intimate and quiet...to protect you both."

"...at what price."

Pen expected his suspicion. Crevan had been like this when he'd first settled at court.

"No price," She said. "You and Ciri are owed a debt. I hope my actions can repay..."

The knock interrupted them, Pen went to answer.

Ciri was surprised when a gaggle of women descended upon her. She was poked and prodded, scrubbed and polished into a fine gown and veil. There was much laughter and teasing as she was taken through corridors and tunnels. Pen and Rhiannon met her at the hidden entrance to the conservatory. A bunch of wildflowers placed in her hands.

"Smile..." Pen whispered. "You'll worry him if you don't..."

They led her into a sunken garden, there Avallac'h similarly scrubbed and polished waited with two of Pen's guard. She was shocked, he looked somewhat uncomfortable. That worried her until she realized he was wearing only his boots, several yards of the Thorn Tartan and a loose shirt.

"It took a bit to get him proper..." Pen whispered. "He wanted to wear his nickers underneath..."

She blushed, though she'd seen all of him several times over. He straightened a bit seeing her. He had never thought to see her in a dress, so used her in breeches. He extended his hand to her, clasping it tightly. Pen came to stand between them, a ribbon woven with the colors of the court twined about their hands.

"Today we unite two lives, Crevan Espain Aep Cormhain Macha and Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon...in the mother's name..."

He spoke a promise he'd made a thousand years before, to another that looked so much like the one before him. Ciri spoke her promise, seeming an echo unto the present. Their kiss was the final seal.

The small gathering afterward was a surprise. The ceremony had been mostly private, but the celebration did not have to be. Deir and Nod rand around among the tables, snatching sweets as they went. Nuada kept a sharp eye out and excused himself from a conversation to go round them up before they crashed somewhere beneath the tables. He returned to the conversation, with Nod on his back and Deir in his arms. 

Avallac'h had insisted on changing from kilt to breeches, too used to places where cold crept into places unwanted. Ciri was still in her dress, not wanting to insult her guests. His arm was around her, holding her close. He watched Pen remove her son from her husband's back, holding him as they leaned toward each other. He wanted that for him and Ciri, that easy comfort. Ciri put her arms around his waist, leaning into him. 

Crevan sat in the library, opting not to attend as it would be nigh impossible to hide among such an intimate gathering. Regis sat with him, a bottle of hooch between them near untouched.

"...I've not worn a kilt since." He said softly. "That was a most unusual experience..."

"Wool against such parts leads to unintended rude gestures..." Regis said. "I wore one for the forming of the court..."

He found humor in that statement, a vampire dressing in the short garment. Yes, he'd been itchy through the whole ceremony, but he'd had the decorum, not to scratch. Well that was until he got back to the rooms he shared with Ciri, he'd near gone bare ass in the hall to be rid of the itch. An application of Chamomile to the itchy parts made him feel better before he'd put on his knickers and breeches.

"...How I envied lady Thorn and his majesty..." he poured himself a shot. "Until I knew it myself."

"...Do you do so now?"

That was a question. Could he envy them still? He knew why Regis would ask, the same reason that the Vampire wasn't going to let him be alone tonight. One never quite got rid of the demons that had driven them into the dark.

"I don't think I can answer that..."

Regis poured himself a shot, downed it and corked the bottle.

"Keep that in mind tonight..." Regis said. "We have an appointment in the garden..."

He rose, the table in the garden with others. Yes, he needed to be there tonight.

The celebration wound down, leaving the happy couple to escape to their quarters. It felt like that Beltine, but there was no fear of them being discovered. Clothing led from the door to the bed, and then two bodies sliding together. He was careful until she reminded him she was not glass and a trained fighter. Passion, obsession, need and love melded into their union. He welcomed the scratches down his back, the feel of her against his own skin. Sleep that night was dreamless.


	28. Chapter 28

The morning after, and Crevan ask something difficult from Pen

* * *

Pen Lay beside Nuada, love-making fading into spooning together. She smiled, making content noises as he kissed her shoulder.

"...You didn't throw Rhiannon at Crevan tonight did you?" Nuada asked.

"No, he's with Regis at the garden table tonight..." Pen said. "And that was one time so it doesn't appear I'm playing favorites..."

"...So he won't be alone tonight, either way, that's good." A smirk against her skin "And where is our spy mistress tonight?"

"With Aiden..."

"So at home..."

Pen laughed softly. "Yes..."

"...would that my rose come home as well..."

"I am," She said nestling into him. "In your arms I am..."

He gave her shoulder a small nip before rolling to his back so she could lay her head on his chest.

The morning brought another small gathering, this one more intimate than the celebration. Just the two couples and a few guards. Pen had arranged breakfast in the solar. A tapestry depicting Ker Morhen hung on one of the walls. Ciri was surprised by it.

"One of our Archivists is an accomplished artist as well, they managed to find an archive containing a drawing depicting it." Pen said. "They did the cartoon for the weaver..."

"...Amazing." She said.

"I can introduce you since you will be here a while..." Pen said.

"No, I have an artist of my own," Ciri said, looking over at Avallac'h who was looking at a display of books.

Pen smiled. "...and I have my own tinker."

Nuada was pointing out the various diagrams copied from the books.

"We should go fetch them before breakfast gets cold..." Ciri said.

"Agreed." Pen said.

They gathered up their mates and got them to the table.

Crevan rolled over, half expecting to find someone with him. No, he'd gone to the garden with Regis. He remembered getting back and deciding that a few shots were a good idea as well. No, that had not been a good idea. He was walking the line again, he knew. How many years had it been, ten...twenty...a thousand. He couldn't tell and that was bad. He needed something more than a one night stand or a few shots. He did not want to ask, but he could not tolerate it anymore.

Pen was shocked to see Crevan in her study. She was even more shocked by what he asked her to do. To ask for Reverie, the deepest kind that was almost death. She had thought him stable, but this said he wasn't.

"...Do you know what you ask, sage..."

"Yes, I would rather sleep as death than this...I do not remember how long ago."

She saw it in his face, the sickness returning, no not that of the addiction but that of the soul. He had fought it long and hard.

...I will arrange it." She said. "and another tutor for the young monarch...I will give you rest..."

Crevan murmured a thank you before rising and departing.

Nuada found Pen sitting in the window seat of his Solar, silent and staring out the window. He knew something had been asked of her, something she did not wish to do. She didn't travel to the High seat lightly.

"...I don't know if I can do this..." She said, after explaining.

"There are few choices for a cure..." He said. "You know that. Soul sickness is hard upon the unseen, it is harder upon a Sage. The long rest will do him the best good, and give him the time to heal..." He held her. "You can do this, it is your duty to do this...I will guard the door while you do."

She broke down then, crying.

The day was sunny, warm like a day a thousand years past. Crevan was sitting in the garden, taking in the beauty before his long sleep. He knew he would be bathed, his clothes would be changed, and "Woken" enough to take food and water. It was a fitting day, it was the day he'd lost his Swallow...

"...I lied when I said I wanted the lie to stand." He told Pen as they walked through the maze. "...I did not want to think of that time, its betrayal or the hope it brought. I will have a very long time to contemplate it."

"I don't want to do this, but you have the right to request it of me."

"And I have. I grow weary, watching memories." He tried to smile. "...what is it you said Lord Jareth told Lady Sarha...forever, not long at all..."

Yes, it was forever, and not long at all.


	29. Chapter 29

Ciri wondered what was wrong with their host, she had been happy only days before. Near silent when she came, near-silent she left now. This seemed out-of-place as if someone had died. Avallac'h knew but could not share that knowledge with Ciri, how did one explain that one could be dead and yet not.

"...She grieves." He told her. "But not for their death. Give her time and we shall see our jovial host again..."

"It seems wrong..." Ciri said.

"Not all grief is for the dead." He said putting his arms around her. "If it is for the dead, she will tell us."

She let it go, but she didn't agree with it.

Pen slowly came to peace with what she'd had to do. She had not liked the look of Crevan in such still sleep. But knew he was healing. She went to visit often, reading to him. She knew he couldn't really hear her, but it helped.

She brought another book to Ciri, a translation of Fairy tales. Ones she was very critical of having fought the monsters behind them.

"...making light of monsters." Ciri said as she read Hansel and Gretel. "and you need silver..."

"Humans do so all the time," Pen told her. "What was real for you, is a legend for us...things that lived in the dark...We forgot they liked to eat us up..."

"...the stories."

"Memories perhaps, told by each generation until someone had the sense to write them down."

"They read these to children..."

"They were never meant to be read to children." Pen said softly. "But some blessed soul decided Children could handle what was in them. Then proceeded to remove elements that told the reality of them."

Ciri frowned as she continued to read. Pen could see the gears in her head-turning...

~Fought that, killed that, drove that off~

Avallac'h read over her shoulder, frowning at one or two of the stories. He rubbed his side, he'd have fought one or more of those monsters beside Ciri.

"...I have other stories you might like more..." Pen said. "I'll ask Regis to look into them."

"Would you look into something for me..." Ciri asked. "If you can't..."

"No harm in asking..." Pen said.

"What became of Emhrys..."

"Lived a long life, had other children. Never let another Witcher into his kingdom..." Pen said softly. "What beyond that I would have to look into the St. Neven archives, but those are sparse."

Ciri seemed sad, but she had chosen the path of her heart. 

Ciri was not domestic in any way, she took after Geralt in that way. Avallac'h was just as clueless. Pen showed Ciri ells of fabric, letting her choose which to make into clothes. Avallac'h had commented to the point that Ciri had enough and stormed off. That hadn't happened in a while, leaving him cursing himself.

"...And I say the wrong thing again." He grump. "Would you be so kind, Lady Thorn, I think we need a little time to ourselves..."

Pen got up, yes they had to deal with this themselves.

Aethen found Pen Laying out fabrics. The colors were muted, but the weave fine. It said she'd gone to the market in old Dublin. A few of the fabrics reflected the theme of apple trees or birds. He knew she'd picked them to present a child in.

"...Both of them were Royal..." Aethen said. "And to argue over fabric seems trivial."

"Yes, to us." She said. "Not to them. Ciri is thinking practical fabrics, very much like a Witcher would. Avallac'h is thinking like a Lord since technically their child is Royal through both houses."

"You want to dunk him headfirst into Jareth's bog don't you..."

Aethen always could tell when her temper was short and knew what to ask.

"Yes, if it would improve things..." Pen said. "It's like dealing with Nuada on a very bad day..."

"Himself isn't this bad..." Aethen said, "He'd find this amusing..."

"...What will I find amusing?"

They had not heard him enter, and he held a receipt. She had purchased the fabrics with the royal accounts.

"...Avallac'h's temper tantrum..." Aethen said.

"Yes, I heard, but I do not find it amusing," Nuada said. "How much fabric did you purchase, not that you use your royal accounts often..."

"Enough to clothe a child for about a year..."

"I'd say give them some of the twin's clothing but knowing the Aen Elle it has to be new..."

"Thus my shopping trip..." She said. "I did get a few more gears and the like for you as well..."

Nuada smiled, She liked the results of his tinkering projects.


	30. Chapter 30

Pen works out with Ciri and Avallac'h, a question she does not wish to answer, and another difficult task asked of her.

* * *

Ciri watched Pen move through a Kata, slow and precise. Speed did not seem the point of her movements. She showed Ciri, had her copy her movements.

"...This is more of a meditation..." Pen explained. "A warrior is not made fully of strength and steel...to teach patience, control."

She glared at Avallac'h who had accompanied them to Dojo. She dared him to make a smart comment, as she was well aware that it was not in Ciri's vocabulary. The Sage was wisely silent.

"Each movement, performed slow writes itself into muscle and then..." She performed the movements at speed. "...Speed is gained when one learns to move."

Pen watched Ciri try the movements, remembering from her own teachers.

~The monsters that walk on two legs are the most dangerous~ She remembered Lochain saying. ~they can think, react and plan...~

Yes, she had long ago found there were more two-legged monsters than the preternatural ones. Ciri most likely learned that too. She adjusted Ciri's stance, showing her where the balance was off. Ciri's stubbornness soon became clear. Yes, the Witcheress was a skilled fighter but held none of Warrior's graces. By the end of the session, she deemed not to acknowledge Avallac'h's knowing smirk. 

Pen soon wiped that smirk off, challenging him to a sparring session. She had studied the tactics of the Red riders soon after the arrival of the Aen Elle. She hadn't fully mastered them but had enough to spar with one who's skills were rusty. It was a good work out, he had retained enough to make her work for it. It ended with her practice weapon scrapping against his ribs.

"I yield..." Avallac'h said between pants.

Pen smiled if she'd been wielding her blades that scratch would have given him a devil of a time trying to heal.

Ciri was surprised that Pen could keep up, near witcher level of speed. She had to ask when both had cooled down.

"...A lot of teachers." Pen said. "and a very arrogant Elf prince..."

Nuada entered from the hall, his shortened lance resting on his shoulder.

"I was not arrogant..." He said. "Aethen said you'd be here, I see you already got your workout...

"I could go another round..." she said. "Steel?"

"Do we dance with any less..."

"No, we do not..." Pen said going to the gear she'd brought and bringing out her nested blades. "...Let's dance..."

She drew her blades in a smooth movement, this was always fun.

The match ended it what appeared to be a draw. But Nuada grunted and reached to wipe away a small line of blood on his wrist. He knew the protocol when scratched with one of her blades.

"Go get that treated..." Pen said. "Before it goes septic..."

"As my lady commands..." Nuada said "...a good strike...I will see you a bit later."

Ciri wondered what Pen was talking about it was a scratch.

"My blades were made with silver and an iron core." Pen said. "Two things that are deadly to the unseen. If he does not treat the wound, well I'll be brewing up a different kind of antidote...It would make what I gave Avallac'h seem pleasant."

Pen watched The sage turn a shade of green at the memory. Ciri frowned, which had not been pleasant for her either.

"I was not always a Lady, nor a freeholder." Pen said. "I will not speak of the past, for it is painful for both he and I..."

Her words were a clear indication they would get no more out of her on the subject.

Nuada waited for Pen in her study. The expression upon her face said she had been asked a question she had not wanted to answer. It also said she had answered it with as much tact as she could.

"...They asked of my blades." Pen said. "If I had said, I think Avallac'h would have gone cold to me."

What Pen had been was not much talked about let alone acknowledged in royal circles. To be what she was, it meant there was a dire fear of madness. He took her into his arms, held her to his heart.

"...Should must ever my heart stop, let it be by rose and thorn." Nuada whispered. "for I know they shall follow."

The words that bound them, not only in love. He held her like that for some time before they spoke again.

"...So many knots..." Pen said, leaning into him.

"Why do you think I chose them for our marriage tattoo..." He said. "...I would ask you to consider binding Crevan to your court when he wakes."

"Only three times to share my lady's bed, but I stand a lifetime beside her." Pen said, remembering Aethen's binding. "Are you sure you'd be ok with it a second time. Aethen was my closest friend when he was chosen as my guard...I thought you were going to slit his throat rather than mark him."

"...If Lochain hadn't told me the implications of him not being that close to you, I would have."

"I will think about it..."

He held her closer, hoping she would make the right decision.


	31. Chapter 31

Ciri tried to eat, but the morning sickness was a bit too much today. She saw the worried look in Avallac'h's eyes. It was amusing to watch him want to call the healers every time she was feeling ill. The healers hauled him out after about the fifth time. He was threatened with being put into Reverie until the child was born if he kept it up. A reminder that she was not glass or some delicate maid went a long way to ease his fear.

"...You should rest." He said. "We have a long time ahead of us..."

"Yes." She said, going up to him. "As long as you do so with me."

That would bring a smile to his face, spooning together drifting to sleep. 

Pen stretched, looking up at the rafters. Nuada lay still sleeping beside her. It was always good when he could stay for a little while. She got up, leaving her husband sleeping. The table next to the hearth was set for two with soup, bread, honey butter, and her favored ginger drink. Aethen was sitting near the hearth with his own bowl.

"Beef barely..." He said. "...must have been some cheaper cuts at the butcher's."

Pen smiled and sat down, serving up a portion of the soup.

"...The healers are finding much amusement in Avallac'h."

"I would too, but Ciri is becoming very annoyed."

"Were you not when Himself turned his attention to you during your pregnancy?"

"With Tam, it was an adventure for both of us." Pen said. "I would tell her to appreciate it..."

"Did you miss it with Dain and the twins?"

"I'd half expect that question from Ciri..."

"Fair enough." He said. "I bring news from our Spy mistress..."

Pen smiled, there had been a fight two days prior to seemingly over Rhiannon.

"...The two combatants were the two suspected leaks." He continued. "Arresting them was...fun. They near crapped their pants when we showed them the evidence of their crimes. One sang rather quickly...seems Ge'els isn't the only one who wants to know the weakness' of our court."

"I knew about the Viceroy." Pen said. "Its the one that doesn't sling words like daggers that bothers me. Daggers I can dodge..."

"Yes, from what we gathered, it is because you are a woman rather than the population of our environs. I almost let Rhi castrate him, but she declined in favor letting the court do it."

"Few things change..." Pen said, slathering a piece of bread with the sweet butter. "I hope the leak is significantly plugged."

"Yes, We've found no more." He said as he got to his feet. "I'll leave you to have some more time with himself..."

She smiled at his departure, as Nuada had awakened and come to share dinner. 

Pen knew something was wrong when she saw half a dozen healers in the halls on the way to the guest quarters. She increased her speed. Dain met her outside Ciri and Avallac'h's room.

"What happened?"

"Navigator, and an assassin..." Dain said. "Looking for a random target most like, and considering the EMP emissions around the manor a stupid act." He sighed. "Ciri and the sage are unhurt...it is more the assailants. The Navigator...well...whats left of him."

Ciri was still sitting in shock, she had screamed at the sight of the intruders. Pen reached her, she was still splattered with blood. Pen took one look and turned green. She knew the elder power channeled through voice could do...that. It had been a while since she'd seen it happen.

"Get Lady Ciri cleaned up..." Dain ordered. "Avallac'h would you accompany me, I would like you to talk to our guard captain...to arrange a tighter guard."

The sage wasn't going to leave Ciri's side. Removing her from him would prove even messier.

"Better bring the captain here..." Pen said. "He's not going to move..."

Dain looked over them over his lenses and agreed with his mother. 

Getting her guests resettled had taken most of Pen's day. Now she sat in her study, looking over the map of navigation points inside her manse. Aethen entered and set two shot glasses on the desk, and poured something that glowed green into them.

"Take the shot." He said.

She made a face before she downed it. It tasted nasty.

"What the hell was that?"

"...cucumber something or other." He said. "I asked a few of the students...came from their still."

"They need to work on that...and pray do tell why you brought me this nasty concoction?"

"Thought it would match your mood." He said. "It was this or sling you on a horse to bring you to himself...though I could just as..."

She lobbed one of the squishy balls she kept at him. His laughter was what she needed.

"If you did that, well I don't think Tin would end up very happy."

Aethen smiled, reminded of the vow he took. They were close enough that they could tease about it, but he had never crossed the line. She stood up, head too much upon the most recent incident.

"Let's go, I think the Orb Weaver is calling..."

He snorted, at least there would be fewer Orcs in it by night's end.


	32. Chapter 32

Morning arrived with Pen wishing to borrow Dain's lenses having woken up between Tindel and Aethen. The two had a bit of fun teasing her but assured her they had all fallen in at the close of the tavern. She was enjoying breakfast when the guards came banging on the door. It appeared there was a guest at the manse that did not wish to be ignored. She had three guesses as to who, but only one came to mind.

"He seemed annoyed when we told him you were unavailable..." Tam said, free of his helm and gauntlets.

"Like he's never gone and done something stupid..." Pen said, still trying to see without wincing. "...It was either stupid or dangerous...and we both know which one your father would gripe about."

"Atar might still grumble about this. Get a bath and some of that nasty headache stuff, I'll delay our unwelcome guest a bit longer."

She smooched her song on the cheek and headed to be presentable. 

Tam had arranged for the Viceroy to meet his mother in her office rather than her study. It clearly stated she meant business rather than receiving him as a guest. Ge'els looked her over with a frown, clear he had not wanted to deal with her.

"...Where is Crevan..." He demanded. "He is usually your shadow."

"He has been...Ill." Pen said, weighing her words with care. "I thought it best that he retire for a short while...he is unharmed." She frowned. "You are here for more than the "Concern" for a "friend". So cut to the chase."

"I was informed there was an...incident with a Navigator." He said. "

"Yes, strange that..." She said. "Considering the manse is warded against unauthorized portals." she fiddled with the ink pen on the desk, the sharp nib an easy weapon. "...my guests acted in self-defense, there wasn't much left..."

The Aen Elle leaned forward, tilted his head slightly.

"I know what you were Lady Thorn..." He threatened.

She heard his implied threat to expose her to the other courts. He did not know that her allies knew exactly what she had been. Nuada had to be open with them in order for Pen to be formally recognized as High Queen. He must have thought her a mere consort rather than a ruler in her own right.

"Then you know very well what I am capable of." She hissed. "...The fact that his majesty is still alive should tell you the lengths I will go to defend those dear to me. Now think of what I will do to defend my people."

"I will have..."

Pen slammed the ink pen into the desk, nib first to emphasize her point. She wasn't going to let him

"Do have a care about what you say...you are not in your court but in mine. You should know there are more deadly things in this court than a Higher Vampire...ones I assure you are as old as you and just as...refined."

Pen reached to the shelf, A "lady Sarah" rose was in a small vase. It would do perfectly. The poor bastard wouldn't know the difference since he'd never get near the private courtyard where the actual bestial roses grew.

"Take this, for example, used to grow around towers where they held princesses...It grows on the bones and blood of princes. I have several of these roses, and I like to feed it arrogant assholes...so do take care not to be one..."

He was watching the way she was handling the rose, casually like the thorns did not matter.

"...Idle threats..."

She reached into a drawer and plunked the skull of the last victim of the roses on the desktop.

"This was the last one to run into them, made for some nice blooms," She played with the rose in her hand. "This is one of them..."

She watched him pale a bit, he didn't believe her yet. It also indicated he had come to make threats rather than concern for one of the navigators. She reached forward and tucked the bloom into his tunic.

"Think upon it if you feel like threatening me again..." She rose completely and headed out effectively ending the meeting. 

When Nuada heard of it he laughed. He knew well the difference between the blooms, as did most of his court. Those that didn't usually found themselves with some nasty thorn pricks and ill from the venom. He noticed the Viceroy's face, he was insulted that he'd brushed off Pen's threat in a trivial manner.

"They were a gift from Lord Jareth when she established her court." Nuada said. "and I should make you aware you threatened my Queen."

"You should learn to control her..."

Nuada smirked. "I learned long ago never to attempt such, either as my subject or my wife."

The viceroy's frown told of more trouble to come.


End file.
